


Rock You Like a Hurricane

by yeolallineed



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, BaekYeol - Freeform, ChanBaek - Freeform, Chanbaek Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hate to Love, Love/Hate, M/M, Moving On, Reuniting, Sebaek - Freeform, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Smut, Unrequited Love, chanbaek freeform, dilemma, strong second lead, tough decision
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:15:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21822028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeolallineed/pseuds/yeolallineed
Summary: Having suffered in the past, Baekhyun has stopped believing in love. He was once in love but it was unrequited, leaving Baekhyun unable to love anyone else. 5 years have passed since that but Baekhyun is still stuck in time. That's until a blind date sets him up with Sehun. And Baekhyun can just about see himself fall in love again. But things aren't that easy for him. Dealing with his new feelings while his past comes back in his life, leaves Baekhyun in a fix. And he must choose his own fate this time.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 15
Kudos: 55





	1. Part I- Chapter 1

Dating was not Baekhyun’s thing. First, because he didn’t have enough time for it and second, he didn’t trust people much. Well he did trust them in certain things. Like he trusted his secretary to always get his coffee right on time, he trusted his boss to listen to his ideas and give honest feedback, he trusted his friends to drop him home safely after a heavy night of drinking, but he would never, ever trust a human with his heart. Not ever again.

The only thing Baekhyun had given his whole heart to, was his career. Being the youngest editor of one of the biggest global fashion magazines was not a joke. People in the past had died to be where Baekhyun was right now and he had achieved this feat in just half the amount of time that they had.

He had long back given up on personal life and so, when his best friend, Yixing tried to convince him to go on a blind date, all Yixing got was a lot of no.

“You ditched me last month too” Yixing’s voice whined from the other side of the call. “You know that guy was a doctor. And it was a perfect match since both of you are so busy all the time it won’t even feel like you’re dating”

Baekhyun was going through the articles his team had submitted for the Christmas edition of the magazine. Even if the holiday was over a month away, Baekhyun did not like putting things till the end of the deadline. “Why do I need to date at all then? I get a better feeling of being single by actually being single”

“But then you won’t have to spend the holidays alone”

Hearing these words from Yixing, Baekhyun paused. It was not like Baekhyun would actually spend the holiday alone. He would be at work. And he did not like Christmas holidays to begin with. So it wasn’t really something to stress over.

“The issue comes out 2 days before Christmas, so I will be working on 25th, checking all the sales report and marketing strategies” Baekhyun passively said. There was no way he was going to touch the topic Yixing was clearly insinuating. Baekhyun wouldn’t fall for it. He wouldn’t be pitied into finding a date just because he was lonely. He was, at least, not desperate. 

“Fine” Yixing asserted. “But can you at least show up this time? If you don’t like him, you can leave. But at least give it a try”

Baekhyun shut his eyes and scratched his head in confusion. He was swarmed with work. How was he supposed to have time for a date? “I can’t commit when I’ll be free” he spoke into the phone. “I don’t know what else to tell you”

“That’s because you overwork yourself with things even the intern can do well. Can’t you just manage something this once? I promise I won’t hound you for blind dates anymore if you don’t like this guy”

These words elated Baekhyun’s mood. Ever since 3 years, Yixing made it a point to call Baekhyun once a month to try and set him up with some random stranger. Initially, Baekhyun agreed, but after going on the dates, he realized he never actually connected with anyone. None of the first dates progressed to a second. After that, he stopped showing up altogether. It was pointless to get his hopes up, despite him showing that he didn’t care, only to find that he’d wasted his time and efforts on another person who was just temporary.

Baekhyun was sure this would be another of such dates but if Yixing meant what he said, then Baekhyun could be free from this ritualistic torture. Going on one blind date wouldn’t do him much harm. Especially when there wouldn’t be any more of them.

“Fine” Baekhyun finally spoke. “I am free for dinner on Thursday. But if this doesn’t work out, I want you to keep your word and stop setting me up”

Yixing’s practically screamed on the phone upon hearing Baekhyun’s agreement. When he hung up, Baekhyun quietly wet back to his work. Thursday was 2 days away. And this time, Baekhyun was going in with no expectations.

“Have we found a feature’s topic yet?” the Senior Editor’s voice echoed through the meeting room where Baekhyun was seated in. It was already 19th November and if they didn’t finalize the cover subject, it’d be too late.

“We’re still working on some ideas” one of the girls working in the department said. “Celebrity schedules are packed for some reason”

Baekhyun smiled. Of course the schedules were packed. Every company was preparing for end of year events which involved their idols and artists, there were award shows whose practices were already in full swing, bands had rehearsals for the same events while some had just taken the last few weeks off to celebrate with family and friends. Getting an interview at this time was quite tough. If only their Senior Editor and Baekhyun’s immediate boss, Junmyeon, hadn’t had a change of ideas in the last minute, the feature’s section would be over by now.

As the meeting progressed, Baekhyun made a note that almost all the teams were about to wind up their articles and shoots. Everything now, was stacked on the cover article.

“Good work everyone” Junmyeon said, once the meeting was over. The staff began walking out the meeting room when Junmyeon stopped Baekhyun. “Let’s have a word in my cabin” he said and quickly left. A few eyes turned back, noticing the coldness in Junmyeon’s voice but no one dared say anything. Baekhyun turned to them and smiled, assuring that it was fine and that they can leave. With several nods, the remaining staff exited the meeting room.

Baekhyun took a deep breath as he stood outside of Junmyeon’s cabin. He knew what this was about. Checking his watch, Baekhyun noticed that it was close to 8 pm and if he were to step inside the cabin, he would likely be there for at least a couple of hours. Nevertheless, he went in.

“Have a seat” Junmyeon said when he saw Baekhyun. Baekhyun noticed how the man never had one hair out of place. Never in the 5 years of working under him, had Baekhyun seen his boss look less than fit for appearance.

He was wearing a black suit under which a white casual t-shirt lay tucked against the waist of the trousers. Junmyeon liked pulling the sleeves of his suit up near the elbow, a habit that always highlighted the expensive watches he wore. Baekhyun knew it was not something he did to show off. Rather it was a habit of his since he hated the sleeves touching his wrist, especially while eating.

The round frame glasses that he wore when he worked on his laptop always complimented his face. Baekhyun wasn’t sure if there was anything that didn’t compliment him. Junmyeon was a perfection, sculpted carefully to bless human eyes. He was incredibly handsome and courteous. A true gentleman. So for the life of him, Baekhyun never understood how Junmyeon always managed to get dumped just after a few weeks of dating.

“I am fucked” Junmyeon whined. Baekhyun just let out a deep breath and shook his head. He knew this was coming. But it was also surprising. Most of Junmyeon’s date lasted for a few weeks, some even for a few months, but this was the first time he had managed to be with someone for over a years without getting dumped. So what happened suddenly?

Quietly getting up, Baekhyun walked over to Junmyeon’s office cabinet and pulled the bottle of fine scotch out along with two glasses. When Baekhyun had just started out, 5 years ago, Junmyeon was just a team leader and Baekhyun was just another person who reported to him. One day, while working late at night, Baekhyun heard Junmyeon being dumped over the phone by a guy he had been dating for 3 months.

There was no one else in the office and Baekhyun did not want to leave Junmyeon on his own. So he quickly ran out and across the street to buy a couple of soju bottles from the convenience store before heading back in. Baekhyun didn’t say a word, all he did was hand one paper cup to Junmyeon and poured him some soju before making himself a drink. With time, Junmyeon began opening up and before either knew it, they’d become drinking buddies.

A tradition that started with soju, leveled up to beer and finally to finest quality of scotch simply because both could afford it now.

“What happened?” Baekhyun asked as he made them both a drink. The meeting was over and the rest of the staff would already be heading out. So it would be just the two of them.

“I don’t think I will get over this one. I think I love him” Junmyeon said, taking his glasses off and reaching out for the drink Baekhyun was making.

Baekhyun smacked his hand away, asking him to wait till he dilutes the whiskey. “You said the same thing about the last guy you dated. I remember you moved on exactly after 4 days”

“But those 4 days were the worst of my life”

After Baekhyun was done adding ice to his heart’s content, he handed Junmyeon the glass. “Why did he dump you?”

It was a given at this time that Junmyeon was never the one to dump.

“He didn’t” Junmyeon confessed in a low voice. “I did”

Suddenly the atmosphere became too tensed and Baekhyun knew this was no time to joke. It was only then did Baekhyun realize that this was not a simple breakup Junmyeon could merely move on from. It was true that Junmyeon was always the one who cared more in any relationship he went into. But it was only because that’s the kind of person he was. He always gave his entire self to everything he was committed to, not many people had the same passion. And so, if it was him who had broken up first, it must be something big.

“Why did you do it?” Baekhyun asked.

“He said his parents want him to get married and they don’t know that he’s not straight”

“You should have asked him to talk to his parents. Why did you have to break up?”

Baekhyun noticed a sad smile behind the glass that was drawn to his lips. “I didn’t dump him because of that. I dumped him because he said he still wanted to see me after he got married”

Baekhyun suddenly became stiff. It was like these words had a very horrifying affect on him.

“Doesn’t matter Baekhyun. It’s all in the past now” Junmyeon said, sensing Baekhyun’s reaction. Junmyeon’s eyes were weary but lost. There were no tears in them. He had already cried a lot over too many useless people. But Baekhyun wasn’t sure if this was the time for him to be tough. “I am done with him. I don’t want a person who doesn’t value marriage and relationships.”

Baekhyun still did not say anything. Rather, he downed his drink in one go before making himself another one. This was not the time for Baekhyun to be all riled up. Junmyeon needed him right now. With another drink, Baekhyun settled back in the chair opposite to where Junmyeon was sitting.

“You’re better off without him, JM” Baekhyun finally said. “I know these words sound empty and redundant but it’s the truth. Coming from someone who has been through something similar, I can tell you what you did, was very brave and I am very proud of you”

Junmyeon smiled. “Honestly, I didn’t think I had it me to dump anyone”

“You’re too kind, and that’s a problem” Baekhyun said in light humor. “How did it feel? Being the one who does the dumping?”

Junmyeon looked up from the glass and straight at Baekhyun. “It felt… rotten and disgusting”

These words made Baekhyun laugh. “Usually it makes people feel powerful and inflates their ego”

Junmyeon shook his head. “I don’t know how those people live with themselves. I don’t feel powerful and neither does my ego feel inflated. I knew I was breaking his heart when I said those words, but he shattered me when he said that he still wanted to see me after he got married. Like I was nothing more than a casual fuck he sees over the weekends. When I said that today would be the last he’d hear from me, I saw the pain in his eyes, Baek” Junmyeon said in a low, regretful voice. “I saw the knife I was plunging into his heart, but I didn’t know what else to do. My self-respect wouldn’t allow me to do what he wants”

There was a short pause as Junmyeon tried to stop himself from crying.

“You did good, JM” Baekhyun finally spoke. “You did what more than most people can never”

Junmyeon leaned back in his chair and Baekhyun knew what he was thinking, who he was thinking about. They drank in comfortable silence until Junmyeon spoke again.

“Can you do me a favor?” he asked and Baekhyun immediately nodded.

Junmyeon handed Baekhyun his phone. “Can you please delete his number and messages? I can’t bring myself to do it”

Baekhyun took the phone from his boss. “Are you sure you want me to do this?”

Junmyeon curtly nodded. “I don’t want to end up calling him when I am drunk or lonely. I’m not that strong”

Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun searched for every trace of Junmyeon’s dating life and deleted it one by one.

In less than a minute, Junmyeon’s phone was completely free of his recent past.

Thursday arrived sooner than Baekhyun could anticipate. Junmyeon seemed to be doing better than before. The day after they had shared drinks, he’d taken a leave and Baekhyun was happy that he was resting. The next day, he came back like nothing had happened. It was odd at first but Junmyeon convinced him that he was fine and that after thinking about it for an entire day, he realized that Baekhyun was right that he really was better off without him.

Baekhyun did not believe him but he went along.

The meeting held on Thursday evening, brought with it the updates on the articles and ideas for the cover.

Someone suggested to highlight a certain celebrity’s private life during the holidays and Junmyeon found it decent.

“It’s good but it’s not uncommon to read about how the celebrities spend the holidays when they take time off from their work and schedule and when they are only with family” he said. “I believe we need more”

Baekhyun nodded. He knew this had been done many times before. “Can you come up with more ideas of the same theme?” he asked the girl who had pitched it.

She nodded and Baekhyun gave her an encouraging smile. He loved working for Junmyeon because he was never the type to bully his subordinates just because their ideas weren’t new. And this encouraged each of them to work harder.

“Sounds good” Junmyeon said as he stood up. “We will meet again tomorrow and I hope we have something really good this time”

Everyone nodded and left. Baekhyun saw the time and it was already past 8. He was supposed to show up at the restaurant at 9.

“I have to go too” he announced to Junmyeon.

“Where are you going?” he asked, a little surprised. Baekhyun was never the one to leave work before at least midnight.

Baekhyun sighed. “Yixing set me up for another blind date” he complained.

“You need to learn to say no, do you know that?”

“This is the last time though.”Baekhyun said. “Yixing promised if this doesn’t work out, he won’t ask me to go on these blind dates anymore”

Junmyeon shook his head. “That boy has no taste in men”

Baekhyun laughed. “Will you be okay?” he asked. “I can always cancel if you need me to stay”

At his, Junmyeon turned Baekhyun around and pushed him towards the door. “So that Yixing can call me and yell at me?” he asked. “No thanks. He scares the shit out of me so I think I will be fine”

Baekhyun turned around one final time after he was pushed out of the door. “If this doesn’t work out, which I am sure it won’t, I will come right back”

Junmyeon gritted his teeth. “Just don’t come back until tomorrow” he said and shut the door on Baekhyun’s face.

As Baekhyun walked out of the building, he was sure that in less than an hour, he would be right back.

The traffic had screwed up his plans of reaching the restaurant before time and establishing his own comfort zone by choosing the seat of his liking. The restaurant was a regular that Baekhyun visited and he had a favorite spot there. It wasn’t a fancy place, neither was it too crowded. But Baekhyun had been going there for over a decade because it belonged to his friend, Jongin.

The three corners of the restaurant each had something going on for themselves. One corner was the entrance, second led to the kitchen and the third was the corner that hosted live music. It was the 4th corner that was Baekhyun’s favorite. Stacking up against the wall, he had his eyes on all the three corners. The many night he’d spent there, drinking alone or in Jongin’s company, he had loved watching people live their own lives out.

That corner had become a safe haven for him, a place he found comfort in. Especially after his last relationship. Or could he even call it that? It was pretty one sided as far as he knew.

As Baekhyun parked his car outside the restaurant, he could only hope that the seat was still empty for him to take.

When Baekhyun entered the restaurant, a familiar face and a hug greeted him.

“I haven’t seen you in ages” Jongin said, holding Baekhyun a little too firmly. Jongin was right. Baekhyun hadn’t been to this restaurant in a long time. Probably a couple of months. Work usually kept him busy.

“You know how my work is” Baekhyun replied, “I am sorry I wasn’t able to come by often”

He took his coat off and hung it by the door before looking around. Surprisingly, the place was packed. He also noticed that Jongin had done some changes to the place. It looked more nightclub-ish than it did previously.

“Wow the place is crawling with people” Baekhyun said with a smile. “Did you finally start giving out free meals?”

Jongin laughed and shook his head. “It’s the new chef. His food is a hit and people actually want to pay for double portions”

Baekhyun had seen Jongin through his struggles with the restaurant over the years. Sometimes, things were so bad that he would think of shutting the place down. But Baekhyun always kept telling him to not give up so easily. He would always encourage him through his tough times with any kind of support that he could. Sometimes it also meant paying the rent that Jongin couldn’t afford. But never did he mind it. He only wished he could do more.

“Didn’t I tell you things would turn around?” Baekhyun asked and Jongin nodded in courtesy.

“Come I’ll get you your usual table” Jongin said and led the way to the corner of the restaurant that was usually reserved for Baekhyun.

But once they reached, Jongin already found someone sitting there.

“Excuse me sir” Jongin proceeded to say, tapping the man on his shoulders lightly. “Since you’re sitting alone, can I ask you to please shift to another table?”

Baekhyun pulled Jongin back. “Let him sit peacefully” he said and turned to the stranger, “I am sorry, please forgive him”

The man who was sitting, smiled at them and turned to Jongin. “I am actually waiting for someone” he said and then turned to Baekhyun. “You actually”

Baekhyun instinctively pointed to himself. “Me?”

The man nodded. “Baekhyun right?”

Jongin looked at the two of them in confusion. “I am sorry, who are you?” he asked the stranger who was now standing up and wow was he tall.

“I am Sehun, Baekhyun’s blind date”

It was only then that Baekhyun recalled why he was at the restaurant to begin with.

“Oh shit” Baekhyun exclaimed. “I am so sorry for the rudeness”

Sehun shook his head. “Please, have a seat” he said, looking at Baekhyun and then turned towards Jongin. “And please join us, if, Baekhyun doesn’t mind”

Jongin raised and eye and looked at Baekhyun who he knew would not mind at all. He would never mind things that sabotaged any potential relationship.

“Maybe later” Jongin said, patting Sehun on his shoulder. “I have guests to attend to. Keep this one entertained,” he told Sehun, pointing at Baekhyun. “He gets bored very easily”

Sehun laughed. “I will try my best” he said and Jongin left them immediately.

As Baekhyun took his seat, the one against the wall that gave him the view of the whole restaurant, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was a mere coincidence or was it fate that his date chose to sit exactly where he wanted to?

“How did you know it was me?” Baekhyun asked once both of them had settled down.

“Yixing sent a photo” Sehun said. “And I must confess, the photo does not do you justice”

Baekhyun smiled. It wasn’t the first time he had heard someone say that. “Would you like some wine?”

“Sure” Sehun replied.

“Red or white?”

“White”

Baekhyun nodded. Okay, this was a decent start. He too liked white wine and if nothing else, they could probably talk about wines, in case they ran out of topics.

“So what do you do?” Sehun initiated after Baekhyun had ordered the first bottle of white.

“I am an editor at a fashion magazine”

“An editor?” Sehun asked, a little surprised. “At such a young age? That’s impressive”

Baekhyun gave out an empathetic smiled. “Thank you” he said. “What about you?”

Sehun leaned back on the chair a little. “Oh you know, this and that”

Baekhyun cocked his head a little at the non-committal answer. What did Sehun mean by this and that? Did Yixing set Baekhyun up with another jobless guy who would say he’s between jobs when he’d actually been unemployed for over a year and would end up mooching off of Baekhyun?”

“I don’t know…” Baekhyun said, flat out. “… the this and that you mentioned”

Sehun smiled. “I actually do a lot of things and I do not want to bore you with details”

This was even more confusing to Baekhyun than the previous answer. Did this mean Sehun worked as a freelancer from home? Well it would still be better than not doing anything.

“Okay” Baekhyun answered. It was obvious the guy did not want to talk about himself. And he wasn’t sure what they were supposed to talk about otherwise.

Sehun took a small sip of wine and looked around the restaurant. “Do you come here often?”

“I haven’t been here in the past couple of months but yeah, this is a regular spot”

“And that guy you were just with, he’s the owner?”

Baekhyun nodded. “He's an old friend. Is this your first time here?”

“It is. I hadn’t even heard of this place until Yixing mentioned it to me”

“About that” Baekhyun interrupted. “How do you know Yixing, if I may ask?”

Sehun smiled. “Through work”

That was all he said, leaving Baekhyun with a pile of questions. Yixing was into events management, one of the best in the country so Baekhyun couldn’t really understand how he could have met a freelancer because of his work. Was Sehun into freelancing events management?

Since he was apprehensive about answering questions about his work, Baekhyun wasn’t sure what he should be asking, but before he could, Sehun jumped in.

“What would you recommend we order?”

Baekhyun looked at him for a second, wondering if he was trying to change topics. All he knew was that after this day, he would never see Sehun again. Something about him was really fishy.

Shrugging, Baekhyun picked up the menu. “I am not sure. Jongin said they changed the chef recently so I suppose it’s best to ask him”

Baekhyun caught hold of the nearest waiter and asked him to fetch Jongin for them. The owner came rushing in, wondering if something was wrong but Baekhyun assured him that they just wanted to know what to order.

Upon his recommendation, Sehun ordered the steak and Baekhyun ordered foie gras.

After Jongin left, Sehun turned to Baekhyun again. “Yixing told me you like to paint, is that right?”

Baekhyun smiled, a little annoyingly. Why had Yixing given out all his details to Sehun while he had said nothing to Baekhyun about Sehun? Then Baekhyun remembered that it was because he wasn’t interested in knowing.

“I used to paint until a few years ago, but I don’t anymore”

“Why so?”

There were many reasons, one more prominent than others but Baekhyun did not want to wash his laundry in front of Sehun on the first date and he didn’t trust him enough to tell him about his life yet. “My work is very demanding” he said instead. “I hardly get time anymore”

“So what do you do in your free time?” Sehun asked curiously.

Baekhyun just pulled his lips into a thin line. “I don’t have free time. I work all day, every day”

Suddenly, Sehun leaned in closer. “Are you under a slave labour contract?” he whispered, genuinely curious. “Because if you are, I know a few human rights lawyers who can help you”

This made Baekhyun laugh. “Trust me, I am doing this willingly” he answered, once his chuckled had died out. It was refreshingly surprising how after a very long time, Baekhyun had to restrain himself from laughing too much. But the way Sehun asked the question, was so child-like, that Baekhyun couldn’t control himself from being amused.

Hearing Baekhyun say that, made Sehun relax a little and he leaned back on his chair. He was smiling, looking at Baekhyun, eyes full of shine. “Can I be honest with you?” Sehun suddenly asked, shifting the air between them heavily.

“Sure” Baekhyun said, not thinking about it too much.

“I don’t do blind dates” Sehun confessed. “In fact, I don’t do dates at all. I haven’t been on one in four years, so I hope I am not being a huge disappointment”

Baekhyun blinked at him. “Four years?”

Sehun nodded, a little embarrassed after the confession. He was expecting Baekhyun to say something, probably even tease him a little, but instead, Baekhyun just breathed a heavy sigh out and slouched back on his chair.

“Thank god” he said, obviously taking Sehun by surprise. He suddenly seemed more relaxed than he was before.

Sehun raised an eyebrow at him. “Huh?”

Baekhyun just gave out a little laugh. “Do you know how exhausting it is to sit across a table from a person who keeps bragging about their dating and sex life?” he asked.

Sehun just shook his head a little.

Baekhyun leaned in on the table, hands crossed. “Let me tell you” he said. “It’s very exhausting. I don’t understand what ego boost these people get after throwing their numbers on others’ faces. Like dude, if you are on a date with someone, the number of people you’ve slept with, isn’t a good conversation starter”

All Sehun did was blink. He had expected many things, but definitely not this.

“Like I don’t care if you’ve slept with a thousand people last month”

“Is that even possible?” Sehun asked, interrupting Baekhyun.

“Huh?”

“To sleep with a thousand people in a month”

Baekhyun looked at him blankly. “I don’t know” he said, “and that’s beside the point. What I mean is, I don’t care about their score. All I care about how comfortable I feel with them. But if you want to start your conversation with the number of dates you’ve been to in the last couple of weeks, all it does is make me nervous and uncomfortable. You know?”

Sehun gave a quick nod which immediately turned into a quick shaking of the head. Obviously he did not know. He hadn’t been on a date in a long, long time.

“My point is, I am glad you have been on zero dates in the last 4 years” Baekhyun finally added. "I can finally relax"

Sehun smiled and noticed that Baekhyun was smiling at him too.

“I am glad I make you feel relaxed” Sehun said.

Baekhyun lost all track of time in his conversation with Sehun. Dinner was served and the words flowed like water between the two of them. They talked about everything they could think of and Baekhyun was glad that Sehun and his views matched on most of the things. It had been long since Baekhyun had talked so openly with anyone.

It was surprising how much Baekhyun had to say when he felt at ease in Sehun’s company. This feeling was new, and he liked it.

Once they were done, Sehun insisted on paying the bill and for once, Baekhyun didn’t mind. He usually paid it all himself with all his blind dates because he hated being indebted to anyone. But for some reason, Baekhyun believed that he would get a chance to return the gesture soon.

On their way out of the restaurant, Sehun left no stone unturned in flattering Jongin on the food his chef had made. And Baekhyun had to admit that everything Sehun said, was actually true. The food was top restaurant quality and he finally understood why the place had started to become full.

“We have to come here next time and meet the chef personally” Sehun said, looking at Baekhyun.

The words left him a little flustered. Baekhyun thought they’d talk about meeting up again once they were out of the restaurant but it seemed Sehun had other plans.

“Umm… we can meet him now” Baekhyun replied, earning an annoying raised eyebrow from Jongin.

“You can’t” Jongin immediately replied. “He left already”

Baekhyun knew he was lying but he was thankful for it. Baekhyun had only said what he said because he was a little nervous and was extremely glad that thanks to Jongin, they’d at least have another dinner to come to.

Once Baekhyun was near his car, he turned around, to wish Sehun a good night and to tell him that he had a good time. But the moment he saw Sehun’s face, he stopped. He looked grim and tensed. 

“Is everything okay?” Baekhyun asked, a little worried. He knew this look. He had seen it many times before. A feeling deep inside of him told him that Sehun would do exactly what his previous dates had done to him. He would tell Baekhyun that he’d call, but he never actually would. Baekhyun couldn’t believe he was stupid enough to raise his hopes and expectations up again, only to have them crushed. It didn’t matter anyway. Yixing had said that it would be the last blind date Baekhyun would be set up for. It didn’t matter that Sehun would tell him something flattering and then Baekhyun would never hear from him again. None of this mattered because Baekhyun was ready for it. He was ready for any bullshit Sehun had to throw at him.

“Baekhyun” Sehun began, his voice was soft, but apprehensive. “There’s something I need to tell you”

There it was. The fallacious compliment.

“Go on” Baekhyun said. He had been through this stage a lot of time. One would become immune at this rate.

“I am afraid I haven’t been completely honest with you”

This was strange. Usually the sentences went like ‘I had such a wonderful time. I will call you tomorrow’. Was this a new game Baekhyun was unaware of?

“Honest about what?” Baekhyun asked.

“I really like you Baekhyun” Sehun said and Baekhyun smiled on the inside. There it was. The lie.

“And I want to see you again” Sehun continued, but Baekhyun knew what came next.

“But I believe I should leave that decision on you” Sehun finished.

Baekhyun stared at him in confusion. “Huh?”

Sehun continued. “If we are to see each other again, I don’t want to keep you in the dark”

“In the dark?”

A slight nod from Sehun confirmed Baekhyun that he had heard right.

“I need you to know…” Sehun began and for the first time since Baekhyun had met him that night, Sehun looked nervous. “… that I have certain priorities in my life that I can’t compromise with. I don’t honestly know where this will go and I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, neither do I want to scare you off with any promises of the future, but I just want you to know that these priorities are something I can never set aside”

Baekhyun did not know what to say. He was expecting Sehun to quickly end the conversation and rush off, but this was something entirely different. Priorities? Baekhyun had no problem with them. He had priorities too.

“I don’t mind these things, Sehun”

Sehun shook his head. “Wait till you know what my top priority is, or rather who”

“Who?” Baekhyun asked. He wondered if it was his parents. Baekhyun wouldn't mind that either. To him, his own parents were the most important people in his life. So he understood if Sehun had the same feeling for his mom and dad. “Is it your parents?” Baekhyun asked.

“No” Sehun immediately replied. “My parents passed away when I was a kid”

Baekhyun was utterly confused at this. Suddenly his eyes widened and he looked at Sehun in shock. “Do you, perhaps have a husband?” Baekhyun asked. “Is that why you haven’t been on a date in 4 years?”

Hearing that, Sehun gave out a chuckle, lightening the atmosphere between the two a little. “I don’t have a husband but yes, there is a reason I haven’t been on a date in 4 years”

Baekhyun was running out of patience and he did not understand why Sehun was being all riddles and puzzles with him. “Just tell me already” he muttered, “I can’t stand the suspense”

Sehun smiled. “I have a son” he said. “He’s 5 years old now”

“So… son?” Baekhyun asked. And then there was a pause before Baekhyun spoke again. “Wait… you’re straight?”

Sehun scrunched his eyebrows at Baekhyun and looked at him in amusement. “Is that what you’re worried about? That I’m straight? Not that I have a son?”

Baekhyun blinked. “Why will I have a problem with you having a son? If I am to date you, I will have a problem with you being straight”

Sehun tucked his lips under his teeth to suppress a smile. “So… so you’re going to date me?”

This caught Baekhyun off guard. He did not even realize what he had said in the heat of the moment. “I… you… stop changing the topic” he demanded, trying to hide his blush. “Just tell me if you’re straight or not”

“I am not” Sehun confessed. “My son’s adopted. I rescued him when he was 1 and we’ve been father and son for 4 years now”

“Rescued him?” Baekhyun asked. “From where?”

“Let’s leave some stories for the next date, shall we?” Sehun asked. “That is... if you want to go on a second date with me”

Baekhyun did not answer.

Instead, he left the question hanging in the air. He opened the door to his car and stepped in, closing it behind him. Turning towards the window, Baekhyun saw Sehun standing there, looking dejected.

Slowly, Baekhyun rolled the window down.

“Next Thursday, 8pm” he said and Sehun eyes suddenly lit up. “And you better have stories about your son to tell me”

He saw Sehun nodding enthusiastically as he wished Baekhyun a good night and waltzed towards his car.

As Baekhyun drove back to his place, he wondered if he too should have been open about his secrets with Sehun as he had been with Baekhyun. Something told him that there’d be a next time.


	2. Part I- Chapter 2

When Baekhyun reached his apartment, he found his phone flaring up with 17 missed calls from Yixing. He shook his head as he pulled his coat off and hung it by the door.

Deciding to call him back after a shower, Baekhyun quickly hopped into his room to find a pair of clothes to change into later. He opened the drawer in his cupboard when his eyes fell on a tiny box stacked in the corner, behind his t-shirts. The expensive leather binding of the box looked as good as new. Baekhyun picked it up. The square box was light, but felt very heavy against his hand. After all, it carried mountains of history and a very painful past with it.

Running his fingers across the edge, Baekhyun wondered if he should open it. It had been quite a while since he had been so starkly reminded of the past.

Just as he was about to, Sehun’s face flashed in his mind. The way he smiled and the way his eyes lit up when he saw Baekhyun laughing. No one had found such tiny things about Baekhyun amusing before. His lips curved up a little and he decided to keep the box where it belonged. And he hoped that sometimes in the future, he’d gather enough courage to finally throw it away.

Once he was done showering and was settled on his bed, he decided to giving Yixing a call back.

“So?” was the first thing Yixing asked. “How did it go?”

Baekhyun smiled but there was no way he was going to give his friend the satisfaction of being right this time. “It was okay”

“That’s not what Sehun told me” Yixing murmured, excitement dripping from his voice.

Curiosity suddenly rising inside of him, Baekhyun wanted to know more about what Sehun had said. “Really?” Baekhyun asked, not willing to show his rising curiosity. “Well it was just okay for me. I have no idea what Sehun told you”

“What are you talking about?” Yixing fumed. “Sehun said the date was great and that he enjoyed your company so much that all he does is keep thinking about you”

Thank god Baekhyun was alone because by now, his blush was beginning to go into a deeper shade of red. Did Sehun actually say that?

“Yeah” Baekhyun said, sounding as calm as possible. “I mean I had fun, but I wouldn’t call it great”

“It’s really hard to impress you, is it not?” Yixing asked in agitation. “Do you know how much I had to convince him to meet you? He had a strict do dating policy but he bent the rules, just for you. He hardly gets time when he’s in the country so don’t you tell me it was JUST OKAY”

Baekhyun had teased Yixing far too long and he knew he would get mad if Baekhyun continued the act any longer so he just fessed up. “Alright, fine. I had a lot of fun. Sehun’s great and I loved talking to him. Are you satisfied now?”

“I knew it” Yixing shrieked. “You just can’t resist his charm”

“But there’s something fishy though” Baekhyun added. “I kept asking about his work but he never said anything”

“Oh. That’s just because he’s modest”

Baekhyun scratched the back of his head. “Modest about what?”

“His work”

It was beyond Baekhyun’s understanding why no one was answering his questions directly. “What work is that?” he asked, frustrated.

Yixing just laughed, “Just google his name, Baek. Search for ‘Oh Sehun’”

With that, he hung up, leaving Baekhyun in a puddle of more questions. Was Sehun someone famous? With a google search page desiccated to him? Was Baekhyun missing something major?

Shaking his head and pulling the covers over himself, he hid underneath with his phone levitating over his head. Slowly he typed the name Yixing asked him to. In no time, the page blared up with images and news articles about Sehun.

Baekhyun stared in surprise when he went from one article to the other.

“Philanthropist Oh Sehun announced plans to build new cancer hospitals across the country that will treat kids for free”

“10 things you never knew about the charity king Oh Sehun”

“The full story of how an industrialist turned into a savior”

Baekhyun couldn’t believe what he was reading. The internet was full of stories about the guy he’d met just a few hours ago. The more Baekhyun read, the more unbelievable it sounded. He read that Sehun hosted a grand charity event every year near Christmas and the entire fund collected in the event, went towards supplying food and medical aid for kids in poor countries. Baekhyun eye’s popped out of his eye socket when he read that the entry tickets for his event were sold for as much as $215,000.

Shaking his head, Baekhyun read forward.

“Business Mogul turned humanitarian, Oh Sehun’s son turned five this year”

The last article interested Baekhyun the most of all. He immediately clicked on it.

As he read the entire story, he found out that a few years ago, Sehun had gotten a whiff on a child trafficking ring from one of his business associates. He immediately took the matters into his own hands and with the help of authorities, he successfully saved over 50 kids from being smuggled out of the country. Out of the kids, who were mostly between 7 and 15 years old, Sehun found an abandoned 1 year old child who was barely breathing. He immediately took him to the best pediatrics in the town and stayed there until the child was out of danger. He ordered for a new shelter home to be built for the kids he’d rescued, making sure they get the best care and the best education while he took the 1 year old kid home, adopting him in the process.

When Baekhyun was done reading, he realized he was crying as warm tears rolled out his eyes.

Did people like Sehun actually exist in the world?

Did Baekhyun have enough luck to ever meet something like that in flesh?

The answer to both was yes.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

Deciding to act on it the next day, Baekhyun went to sleep, with a curiously satisfied smile on his face.

“Round up everyone” Junmyeon said in the meeting on Friday. “I hope we have some new ideas today”

A wave of excitement rushed through the meeting room and Baekhyun could see that everyone was excited to pitch what they had brainstormed.

Baekhyun instinctively smiled, remembering how he was the same back in the early days. How he would stay up all night, with a story board in front of him as he pictured how his idea would look on the cover of the magazine. The best thing about Junmyeon was that he gave everyone equal opportunities. Even the interns in their department was allowed to sit in the meeting room and discuss ideas.

If Baekhyun was given a billion dollars to change his place of work, he still wouldn’t. He valued his relationship with his boss far more than a billion dollars.

“Who’s going to go first?” Junmyeon asked enthusiastically and Baekhyun was relieved that at least his work was keeping him away from thinking about his recent breakup.

A lot of people raised their hands up and Junmyeon seemed impressed. Baekhyun wanted to go first but he decided to hear everyone out in case they had a better idea than what he was planning to propose.

Junmyeon pointed his finger at a girl, “Erin, you first” he said in an authoritative, yet gentle voice.

The girl, unexpected to have been chosen first, fumbled with her notes but no one rushed her.

Once she was settled, she began. “We can do a cover on top social media influencers in 2019”

Junmyeon closed his eyes from a minute before popping them open again. “That’s too complicated. Social media is vast and we’ll have to choose more than one person for the cover”

Baekhyun nodded. “Last month we had 4 people on the cover and this month’s edition has 2”

Erin looked a little disappointed and Baekhyun could tell just from the condition of her binder and her notes that she had worked hard on it. He wanted to say something but before he could, Junmyeon interrupted.

“But I think we can use this concept for the first quarter of next year” he said. “Choose the top influencers from Youtube, Instagram and Twitter and mail me the entire proposal”

This made Erin ecstatic and Baekhyun could easily see it on her face.

“Okay” Junmyeon continued. “Who’s next?”

This time, Baekhyun noticed that the number of raised hands was less. He concluded that either they had the same idea as Erin or similar to hers, of having multiple celebrities on the cover.

“James” Junmyeon said, pointing to a young intern who has been working with them for over 3 months now.

James has a wave of disbelief on his face, like he never thought he’d be noticed because the only other two people who had their hands up with him, were more experienced

“Umm” James began, as if suddenly unsure of what he was planning to say. “How… how about going into a different direction this time?” he asked and Baekhyun noticed that he seemed a little nervous.

It was just a few years ago that Baekhyun was wearing the same shoes as James. He remembered his first pitch, just fresh into internship. He also remembered that those ideas that he pitched, were the stones that laid the foundation of his career in this company.

“Can you elaborate?” Baekhyun nodded at him with a tiny smile, giving him the encouragement he needed.

“I was thinking…” James said, “… that we could feature someone from a different industry this time, like from tech”

Baekhyun turned to Junmyeon who seemed to be musing over the idea. “I mean” he began, “tech doesn’t actually cater to the kind of audience who read our magazine”

“It could be from any other field” James said, voice low. “Since we always do covers on people linked to fashion or mainstream celebrities, I thought we should do something different this time”

Baekhyun smiled upon hearing this. He had thought of the same thing.

“Do you have anyone in mind?” Junmyeon asked.

Unfortunately, James just shook his head and sat back down.

“Then we move on to some other idea, I guess” Junmyeon asserted but Baekhyun interrupted him.

“We don’t have to” he said. “I loved the idea James had”

Junmyeon scrunched his eyebrows and looked at Baekhyun. “We don’t have a cover face”

“We do”

Baekhyun looked around and noticed that all eyes were on him. And he knew why, Ever since he became the editor, this wasn’t his job anymore. All the brainstorming and mulling over ideas were done by his subordinates, so it came as a surprise that he had something to add on.

Baekhyun turned to the laptop connected to the projector inside the meeting room and typed in two words.

In less than a few seconds, the white screen came alive with the pictures of one Oh Sehun.

Baekhyun knew that he had caught everyone’s attention almost immediately. By the time he was done showing the staff what he had seen last night, he could only hope for the idea to be selected so that he could get a chance to meet Sehun way before the planned date.

Looking around the meeting room, Baekhyun noticed how all the girls had their eyes fixed on Sehun’s photo on the large screen while the rest of them seemed pretty impressed by him. He then turned to Junmyeon, fingers crossed.

“So?” Baekhyun asked, “Do you like the idea?”

In response, Junmyeon got up from his chair and slammed the folder he was carrying on the table once. “I loved it” he exerted and everyone in the room let out a small cheer.

“I need you to set up a meeting as soon as possible. You’re in charge, Baekhyun” Junmyeon continued.

“Actually” Baekhyun said with a pause, “I’d like James to be in charge”

All eyes turned towards James who had not expected this.

“It was his idea after all” Baekhyun said with a smile and Junmyeon nodded.

Baekhyun noticed that James was pretty petrified by all this and Baekhyun chucked. “Don’t worry I’ll help you”

This eased James a little.

“Start with the angle you want to focus on and go from there” Junmyeon suggested Baekhyun and he agreed.

“And James” Junmyeon said, turning to him, “Call his secretary and set up a meeting. Let’s get this done with as soon as possible”

While the entire decisions were being made, Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel excited and a little nervous about it too.

As informed the next day by James, Sehun had agreed to an interview for Sunday. It wasn’t a working day for the magazine but Junmyeon knew he couldn’t afford to draw rules, especially when the man had agreed to being interviewed immediately.

“Isn’t it a little odd?” the Senior Editor asked Baekhyun on Saturday evening when Baekhyun had gone to his cabin to talk about the topics they could ask Sehun questions on. “That he agreed to the interview so easily?”

Baekhyun shrugged, suppressing a smile. “Maybe he’s a nice guy”

This earned him a raised eyebrow from Junmyeon. “About that” he said. “It’s kind of surprising that you of all people know about him. Is he an acquaintance?”

“That’s kind of insulting, you know?” Baekhyun asked, pretending to be hurt. “Why can’t I know about him?”

“Because all you do is work and I honestly have never seen you show interest in anything except that. 3 months ago you asked us who Billie Eilish is. You don’t know more than half the people we feature on the cover. I still don’t know how you’ve managed to stay in this business for so long”

Baekhyun growled at Junmyeon lightly. “That’s because I do my work well. It has nothing to do with who I know and who I don’t” he said, defensively.

“You still haven’t answered my question. Is this Oh Sehun an acquaintance?”

Was Sehun an acquaintance? It was too early to tell. So far, he was just a guy who’d been on one date with Baekhyun. But Baekhyun did not want to tell his boss that. Not just yet. Because he was weirdly aware of how excited he’d get and would, unknowingly, embarrass Baekhyun to a point where he’d have to hide under a cave.

“Yixing knows him” Baekhyun said instead. “He’s done a couple of events for him”

The answer appeased Junmyeon for now but Baekhyun was sure he’d come up with more questions if he found out about him and Sehun. And so, despite his feelings, he decided to hand everything over to James so that he’d have as little involvement in the process as he could. As long as James could handle it, Baekhyun would be fine.

James couldn’t handle it. On the day of the interview, he majorly flipped out, running weary with nervousness. When Baekhyun picked up the call on Sunday morning, it was Junmyeon on the line.

“You need to get here as soon as possible” he yelled.

Baekhyun checked the time. It was still 11 am. The interview was scheduled for 1, which meant his boss was still at the office. “What’s wrong?” Baekhyun asked.

“James has gone mad and I can’t calm him down. Get here right now”

With that, Junmyeon hung up.

Baekhyun knew he did not have much time. The drive to office was a little over 30 minutes and if he didn’t encounter traffic, he’d be there in just about half an hour.

Deciding not to change, Baekhyun hopped into his car in pajamas and t-shirt he’d worn to sleep last night.

The office was fairly empty. Except for the photoshoot team, only Junmyeon and James were there and Baekhyun rushed over to his boss’ cabin to see what was wrong.

Inside, sitting on the couch of Junmyeon’s office, was James, hyperventilating.

“What happened?” Baekhyun asked as he approached the couch.

Junmyeon who was sitting behind his desk, had his face hidden in his palm. The moment he heard Baekhyun, he looked up.

“Fix him” he said, pointing to James. “We need to leave now if we are to reach his house on time”

Baekhyun turned towards the scared young boy. “James” he said. “What’s the matter?”

Gathering due courage, James looked at Baekhyun, eyes red and puffy. “I don’t think I can do this. It’s too much”

Baekhyun knew what was wrong. James was scared of screwing this interview up. It was the cover’s feature after all. No one could afford to screw it up. In case it did, they did not have enough time to look for replacement.

“James” Baekhyun said, kneeling down to level with the young boy. “It’s not that big of a deal”

“How can you say that?” James asked, his voice breaking a little. “I’ve been doing nothing but reading about him for the past 2 days to make sure I know all there is to know about him. To make sure I don’t ask something that’s already been asked. But the more I read, the more that man seems godlike. How can someone like me interview him?”

This was not the first time Baekhyun had seen someone be overwhelmed by a celebrity. It was actually quite common. And he finally understood why Junmyeon had asked him to come over. Because once, Baekhyun was like that too.

“You’ve to start somewhere, James” Baekhyun said in a mellow voice. “You’re lucky you’re getting this opportunity that others would kill for.”

“But” James interrupted. “What if I say something to offend him?”

Baekhyun smiled. “I am sure you won’t. We already have a script, right?”

James nodded. “Then just stick to it. But the quality of a good reporter is to ask questions from instincts. To catch on the hidden hints in their words.”

Hearing that, James turned to Junmyeon. “Will I get in trouble if I ask something they don’t want to answer?”

Junmyeon shook his head. “This isn’t a live interview. We can always edit those parts out”

Baekhyun knew hearing these words from the Senior Editor himself would pump at least some confidence into the young boy.

“So, can you do it?” Junmyeon asked.

James did not reply immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and inhaled. Then, he looked at Junmyeon again. “Can he come too?”

It took Baekhyun a few seconds to realize that James was pointing towards him. But before he could answer for himself, Junmyeon jumped from his seat. “He sure can. And he will”

“What?” Baekhyun asked. “Why do I have to come along?”

He then looked at what he was wearing and cursed himself for not changing before he left the house. “I am not even dressed for the occasion”

“No one cares” Junmyeon said as he rushed over and held Baekhyun by his arms. “It’s not like you’re going on a date or something”

Before Baekhyun could reason with either of them, or could give more reasons, he was already being dragged into Junmyeon’s car, like a hostage.

The house, as Baekhyun had presumed, was nothing short of a villa. The gates were ironclad, opening to a huge yard that hosted nearly trimmed grass and trees. There was a huge fountain right at the center which served as a foreground to the huge doors to the literal mansion door, at which Baekhyun was standing.

While the rest of the crew had already gone inside, Baekhyun still stood out, contemplating his chances to running away. Too bad the key to the car was with Junmyeon. Cursing his luck, Baekhyun went in, deciding to merge in with the photoshoot crew. He would be fine as long as no one noticed.

As Baekhyun walked in, following the trail of his colleagues, he noticed that the house was a million time more beautiful on the inside than it was on the outside. Everything was spotless white, right from the swirling stairs to the walls to the décor. The only thing that stood out were scattered toys on the floor. Instinctively, Baekhyun smiled. He knew the toys belonged to Sehun’s son.

The hall that was supposed to host the guests Sehun had so generously invited, was bigger than the whole apartment Baekhyun lived in. Baekhyun stared with wonder at how extravagant the things in the house were. He was, for some reason, afraid to touch anything, thinking he might taint it.

From outside the room, Baekhyun could see Sehun standing with his back to him while Junmyeon and James were busy with him in conversation.

As Baekhyun slowly crept inside the door and was about to mingle with the crew setting up the lights and the camera, he heard Junmyeon.

“Ah here he is” Junmyeon said, pointing towards Baekhyun and he stood there, frozen.

Slowly, Sehun turned around and Baekhyun could feel every beat of his heart, thumping as loud as the thunder on a stormy night. He felt his embarrassment creep in, flushing his cheeks to a deep shade of red as he saw Sehun’s eyes meet his.

He couldn’t believe how rotten his luck was for having to meet Sehun for the second time, in his pajamas and a worn out t-shirt. Despite his will, Baekhyun knew he had to now formally meet Sehun. His plans of being stealthy amidst the crew went completely down the drain in less than a minute of stepping into the room.

“He’s the editor I was talking about” Junmyeon’s voice reached Baekhyun after a few seconds of total deafness. “Byun Baekhyun”

Baekhyun was not looking straight at the floor. He did not have the nerve to look at Sehun any longer. What kind of editor comes to a meeting in night wear? What kind of editor come to a meeting in night wear with a person he’s been on a date on?

And suddenly Baekhyun was panic stricken. What if Sehun told them about the date? What if he told them that they were meeting again on Thursday? Were they meeting again on Thursday? Baekhyun wasn’t sure anymore. Not after suddenly showing up at his house in his pajamas.

“Nice to meet you” Baekhyun said, holding his hand out, but eyes still glued to the floor, hoping Sehun would catch on to the hint. “I am Byun Baekhyun, the editor of Dernier Cri”

Sehun took Baekhyun’s hand in his and held it firmly. For a few seconds, he did not say anything, making Baekhyun look up.

He saw that there was a soft smile on Sehun’s face and Baekhyun did not know what to make of it.

“Hello Mr. Byun. I am Oh Sehun. It’s nice to have you here today”

Baekhyun knew Sehun meant his whole team, but the way he was looking at him, Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel that those words were only for Baekhyun’s ears.

The interview, as held by James, went on smoothly. The questions that Baekhyun and James had prepared together, seemed perfect. Everything went on smoothly and Baekhyun had to thank the universe that Sehun showed no hints of knowing him or going on the date a few days ago. In fact, Baekhyun was pretty impressed with the way Sehun was being so professional about everything.

When the interview was done, James casually asked Sehun where his son was.

“I usually keep him away from media. He’s at his godfather’s place until the interview is done”

Baekhyun kind of liked how protective Sehun was about his son. Not many celebrities cared about how their private life would be played out in the public. But with Sehun, things were different.

“One last question” James said and it took Baekhyun by surprise. They were done with everything that was on the list. So what more could he have to ask?

“You mentioned earlier that apart from your son and your work, you have a pretty low key life?”

“That’s right” Sehun said.

“Does that mean you’re single?”

Baekhyun choked on the bottle of water he was drinking from. What in the name of god was that? Where did the question come from? And why? And then Baekhyun remembered. It was him who had given James the idea to ask questions from instinct.

When Baekhyun was done cleaning up the mess he’s made with the water on himself, he looked at the two of them.

Suddenly his breathing hitched. Sehun was looking straight at him, with a hypnotizing smile.

“I am single, yes” he said, eyes still on Baekhyun. It was making the latter feel jittery. “But I plan on changing that status soon enough”

Hearing this, Baekhyun’s jaws flung open. Was Sehun insinuating what he thought he was insinuating? Did he mean Baekhyun when he said that?

“Does that mean you’re seeing someone right now?” James’ voice reached Baekhyun’s ears. He closed his eyes, hoping for Sehun to stop the interview right there. But he knew Junmyeon wouldn’t allow that. This was exclusive scoop. One of the most desired bachelors of the country, talking about his dating time, for the first time, with his magazine? He would kill anyone who would dare stop Sehun. Even Sehun.

“Not per se” Sehun said with his gaze firmly set on Baekhyun. “I mean I’ve just been on this one date”

“It must be something extraordinary for you to be so hopeful” James said.

“It really was” Sehun said and Baekhyun couldn’t feel his legs.

The date was extraordinary? Or did he mean Baekhyun?

“That’ll be all” Sehun said, voice suddenly more commanding than before.

Baekhyun noticed that he checked his watch. “Do you mind if I talk to your editor for a few minutes?” he asked, turning to Junmyeon who was standing behind the camera.

“Not at all” he said and then turned to the crew. “We’re done. Let’s pack up”

Baekhyun was still sitting on the opposite end of the room, far from where Sehun sat with James. When Sehun approached him, Baekhyun got up and gave him a weak smile.

“You look cute” Sehun said, unable to hide his grin.

Baekhyun glared at him like he would kill him. “Shut up” he sneered, not too sharp but enough to make Sehun stop teasing him.

“Sorry for the last bit” Baekhyun said, changing the topic. “Those questions were not on the list”

“I am glad he asked” Sehun said. “I had been wanting to tell you the same since Thursday”

Hearing those words, Baekhyun’s mood lifted. “Is that why I didn’t get a text or a call from you since the date?” he teased.

Sehun ran his hand through his hair. “I have to admit I was kind of waiting for you to do it first. I thought you wouldn’t want to see me again after I dumped that huge chunk of information on you”

Baekhyun sighed and his eyes suddenly fell on his colleagues standing on the other side of the room. Junmyeon and James’ eyes were fixed on the two of them and only then did Baekhyun realize that they were far more comfortable than they should have been for someone meeting for the first time.

“Can we talk later?” Baekhyun asked. “If I stay any longer, my colleagues would start suspecting something’s going on”

Sehun turned around as saw what Baekhyun had seen. Without hesitation, he waved his hand at the two of them and they suddenly began acting like they hadn’t been staring at the two of them a few seconds ago.

“Isn’t something going on though?” Sehun asked, facing Baekhyun again.

Baekhyun just stared at him in shock. “Well they don’t have to know that” he said, in defense. “Besides, I don’t want them to think that this interview has anything to do with our date”

“It’s not?” Sehun asked. “There I was, getting hopeful that you perhaps did this because you wanted to see me”

Baekhyun had to admit that was one of the reasons, but there was no way he was going to tell Sehun that. Before could answer, he heard Junmyeon’s voice calling him.

“Baekhyun are you ready to go?”

“Just a minute” he answered and then turned to Sehun again.

“I really have to go now” he said.

Hearing those words, made Sehun a little sad and it was more obvious that Sehun let out.

“Call me tonight?” Baekhyun asked.

“I will” Sehun said, with an unexpected smile and then checked his watch again. Baekhyun wondered what that was about.

“If you stay for a few minutes longer, you can meet my son. My best friend is on his way back with him”

“In these clothes?” he almost yelled?

“Why not?” Sehun asked. “He loves wearing pajamas too. I bet you two would get along really well”

Baekhyun shook his head. “Now is not the right time Sehun” he said. “Wouldn’t it be too sudden for him?”

Sehun couldn’t help but admire how considerate he was being towards his son. “I know. Thursday it is then”

He then quickly turned his head and saw that Baekhyun’s colleagues and the photoshoot crew had already left the hall.

Turning towards Baekhyun again, Sehun bent down a little until he reached Baekhyun’s ears.

The moment Sehun came closer, Baekhyun’s heart skipped a beat. He could feel Sehun’s warm breath on the surface of his ears.

“You look really adorable” he softly whispered and Baekhyun felt his knees give out. He closed his eyes, sinking the feeling in. This was new. The way his stomach shot butterflies when Sehun said those words, was something Baekhyun had never experienced before. “So much so that I want you to wear this on out next date too”

When he heard the last bit, Baekhyun gritted his teeth and softly punched Sehun on his stomach, making sure it won’t hurt him.

“If you keep on talking about by clothes, there won’t be a next date” Baekhyun threatened, making Sehun laugh.

As he walked away, he heard Sehun call after him. “I’ll call you after 9” he yelled after him.

“What were you talking about?” Junmyeon asked once Baekhyun was out in the car.

“He wanted to know the details of when the issue would be out and stuff”

“You seemed too chummy for someone asking questions about the magazine”

Baekhyun shrugged, not meeting Junmyeon’s eyes. “He’s very friendly” was as he said before getting in on the passenger’s side of the seat.

Not pressing the matter much, Junmyeon rode off.

As they were driving towards the exit, Baekhyun noticed a car parked on the other side of the closed gate. He presumed it was Sehun’s friend who was bringing his son back.

Baekhyun’s eyes momentarily drifted to the passenger’s seat as the gates flung open. There sat a woman Baekhyun had only seen in photos, never met personally. And on her lap, was Sehun’s son.

As the cars neared each other, Baekhyun lost all his senses and his world came to a screeching halt when through the window of the car, he saw the face of a man who he never thought he’d see again. The man who was driving, was the best friend Sehun had mentioned earlier, the man who was his son’s godfather. The man Baekhyun had the misfortune of knowing too.

He was Park Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s ex husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the typos and the mistake. It's almost 2 am here and I have to go to work tomorrow. I will edit later TT TT


	3. Part I- Chapter 3

For reasons quite obvious and unnerving, Baekhyun couldn’t bring himself to replying to Sehun’s texts or answer his calls. It had been 3 days since that interview on Sunday. 3 days since Baekhyun saw his ex husband pull his car out in front of Sehun’s house. 3 days, since Baekhyun felt like he was spiraling back down into the past he had barely managed to escape.

There was a reason he worked too hard and always kept his guards up. And the reason was Park Chanyeol. Over the past 5 years, since he divorced Chanyeol, he had made it a point to keep him away from his life. And it was not easy. So Baekhyun took every preventative measures to work twice as hard and become an editor so that he would not have to do celebrity profiles as his subordinates anymore.

Park Chanyeol, the man he had escaped, was one of the biggest and probably the youngest hotelier in the country. And despite of everyone having the common knowledge that he had a fiancée, Chanyeol was still chosen as the ‘Most Desirable Bachelor’ for 3 consecutive years now.

He was the kind of people Baekhyun’s magazine wrote articles about. When Baekhyun was just starting out, so was Chanyeol, in the company he was given by his father. It was during those days when Baekhyun was assigned to do a profile on Chanyeol. Not wanting to spill his past out in front of everyone, Baekhyun reluctantly agreed. It was only Junmyeon who noticed that as the date for profiling came nearer, Baekhyun began looking sicker.

A heart to heart one night, led Baekhyun to spill everything out to his immediate boss and since then, it has always been Junmyeon who delegated the work to someone else, making sure Baekhyun’s mental peace isn’t compromised.

And in this company, Junmyeon was still the only one who knew there was a history between Baekhyun and Chanyeol. A history no one talked about.

The more days passed after Sunday, the more worried Baekhyun got about this whole date with Sehun. First of all, Baekhyun had no idea Sehun was friends with his ex-husband, best friends at that. Second of, since when had they actually been friends? Baekhyun was sure there was no one by the name of Sehun even remotely present in Chanyeol’s life when Baekhyun was still part of it, vaguely. And third of, Baekhyun had no idea how he would tell Sehun that his best friend was actually his date’s ex husband?

Since he first met Sehun, Baekhyun had been prepping himself up to tell him his secret just like Sehun had shared his. But having an ex-husband was far less worrisome than having an ex-husband who was Baekhyun’s potential love interest’s best friend.

And Baekhyun knew he had to do something soon because it had begun taking a toll on his work too.

This was precisely why when Thursday, finally arrived, Baekhyun decided to tell Sehun that it won’t work out between the two of them. He did not necessarily had to tell him that it was because of Chanyeol. Baekhyun could easily give reasons like his career was more important right now and a relationship was not something he was looking for. 

The date was set for 8pm this time. Sehun had told him that he’d take Baekhyun to one of his favorite restaurants and that he’d pick him up from his home close to 7. It was just 12pm now but Baekhyun had already made a resolve of what he wanted.

The past few days, Baekhyun had refused to answer any of his calls, sending him a quick text that either said that he was in a meeting or that he was busy. In truth, he actually was because he over-worked himself so that he could keep himself occupied, instead of thinking about Chanyeol. But he knew he couldn’t do it any longer.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Baekhyun decided to call Sehun to confirm the time when they were supposed to meet. This was not something he wanted to do over the phone.

Just as he was about to dial Sehun’s number, Baekhyun’s phone began vibrating. He saw that it was Sehun calling him.

Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun picked up. “Hi” he said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

“Finally” Sehun answered. “Are you busy?”

Baekhyun looked around his office. He had a pile of work to do but none of it was urgent. “Kind of” he said even then.

“Should I call later?”

“No, no” Baekhyun said. “It’s fine. I can talk for a bit”

There was a short pause at the end of the line. “You voice sounds even sweeter over the phone” Sehun said and Baekhyun realized that this was literally the first time they were speaking on phone.

“It does?”

“Hell yes” Sehun laughed. “Is the Christmas edition keeping you occupied?”

“Yeah” Baekhyun said, not wanting to overshare. He had only one goal. “About tonight” he began, “Can we meet a little earlier?”

“Why? Are you busy later?”

“Yeah I might have to pull an all-nighter” Baekhyun lied. “So I was wondering if we could reschedule the date to an earlier time”

“We can do this some other day”

“No” Baekhyun immediately yelled. He was starting to sound desperate to even himself. “I need to meet you today”

Baekhyun heard Sehun give out a soft chuckle.

“I guess we have no other choice then” Sehun said. “What time?”

“1 pm?”

Another short pause.

“I am afraid I’m a little occupied at 1. Can we meet at 5?”

Baekhyun was growing more impatient by the minute. How would he survive that long? “I need a quick chat. Text me where you are and I’ll drop by. Then you can go back to what you were doing”

“Umm” Sehun said, a little apprehensive. “Is it something urgent? You can tell me on the phone too”

“No I need to meet you first. So text me where you’ll be at one and I’ll meet you there”

Saying these words, Baekhyun quickly hung up before Sehun even got a chance to ask anymore questions.

Instead of sending Baekhyun the address, Sehun sent him the location. Driving through with navigation was hassle free as Baekhyun realized that if Sehun had sent him the address, he would never have found the place by himself.

Standing outside the huge castle life building, Baekhyun stared in wonder, unable to believe that such places even existed in the city. Well in all fairness, it was a near 50 minute drive from the city so it was comparatively in a remote place that this castle like building was located.

After parking his car out front, Baekhyun approached the large gates that in a way were similar to the ones in Sehun’s house. Come to think of this, this place was quite like Sehun’s too. Except this was much older, much grander. Baekhyun wondered if this too belonged to Sehun when he suddenly noticed the board right above the gates.

“Excellence Elementary School”

Baekhyun stared at the board in confusion. Why was Sehun at an elementary school?

He vaguely remembered reading an article that extensively talked about how Sehun wanted to reform the education system of the country by making it more skill based where even students who did not excel in schoolwork, could still excel in other skillful aspects. He was probably here to work on that. Baekhyun wasn’t too sure.

Opening the gate, Baekhyun walked in. For mid-day, the elementary school was pretty secluded. Was it a school holiday? There wasn’t a single kid or staff to be seen around.

Figuring that Sehun would probably be inside, Baekhyun walked into towards the school gate, hoping to find at least someone to ask around.

When Baekhyun entered the school premises, he heard some distinct sounds coming from the far end of the alleyway. On the right of the alley, was a huge football ground while on the left, were classrooms. Baekhyun kept walking straight until he stood outside a huge door. The label outside the door said ‘Auditorium’ and Baekhyun wondered if Sehun was inside.

Baekhyun pushed the door slightly and was suddenly met with blasting sounds. Only when he entered inside, did Baekhyun realize that this is where everyone was. All the students and the staff were seated in the large space and a stage was visible straight ahead of where Baekhyun stood.

It was dark, and for once, Baekhyun thought he had entered the wrong place and that Sehun wouldn’t be here. He was about to turn around when a hand caught his.

Before Baekhyun could see who it was, the person bent down, whispering into his ears. “I had been waiting for you” a familiar voice greeted him and Baekhyun realized Sehun must have been waiting for him by the door. “Let’s go to your seats”

The music blasting through the room was too loud for Baekhyun to say anything so all he did was oblige.

Sehun led Baekhyun to two seats right in the front from where the stage was clearly visible.

“What is happening?” Baekhyun asked, leaning to Sehun so that his voice could reach only Sehun’s ears.

“It’s the annual events day at the school”

That was all Sehun said before he diverted his attention to the stage ahead of him, making Baekhyun wonder what was going on.

One after the other, kids came and performed. Sehun cheered for them all. After a while, Baekhyun began enjoying the performances too. Although he wasn’t sure why he was here. All he wanted to do was meet Sehun, talk to him and leave. But performance after performance, Baekhyun found himself getting engrossed in the kids who came out and performed. The school was a pool of talent. There were singers, guitarists, cellists, dancers, a theater group that performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there were kids who were crafty, innovative, some had various science projects made, some were even showcasing their fighting skills. Baekhyun sat in awe at everything he saw.

But he was still confused as to why Sehun was there.

And soon, his questions were answered.

Next on stage, as the host called out and as Baekhyun remembered, was Sehun’s 5 year old son, Oh Hayan.

As the little boy walked in to the center of the stage, he smiled, ear to ear and looked at Sehun, enthusiastically waving his hand at him. Sehun in return, showered the boy with flying kisses and wishes of luck.

For the next 4 minutes, as Hayan sang in his toddler voice, Sehun probably did not even blink, his eyes fixed on his son. Baekhyun couldn’t help but adore the little thing that sang with a continuous smile, even when he forgot a few words in between. He was, after all a 5 year old kid. And for a 5 year old, Hayan was doing brilliantly.

When his performance was over, Sehun immediately stood up and was among the first to start cheering Hayan with thunderous claps. When Hayan saw his father’s excited and happy face, he began jumping on the stage with utmost joy, waving both his hands on top of his head.

Baekhyun did not even know when he had started smiling, looking at the little boy who was nothing but pure bliss.

Apparently, Hayan’s performance was the last one and once he was taken backstage.

“Let’s go” Sehun said, ready to leave.

“Where?”

“Well you came all this way, I can’t let you leave without meeting Hayan”

Baekhyun paused. He didn’t want to meet Hayan, not after what he had decided in his mind. What if he came to adore the little kid more than he already did? What if Hayan hit it off with Baekhyun, only for him to never return to his life ever again? He couldn’t do this to a 5 year old kid.

“Can we talk first?” Baekhyun asked.

“We will” Sehun said. “I promise. But right now, my son’s waiting for me in the changing room”

With that, Sehun took Baekhyun’s hand and pulled him out of the auditorium and round the back to the changing room.

“Do you want to come in?” Sehun asked but Baekhyun shook his head. He knew this wasn’t the right time to interfere.

“I’ll be right back” Sehun said and immediately walked towards the door.

He knocked twice. “Hayan, dadda's coming in” he said before turning the knob and walking in.

Baekhyun stood outside, wondering how he should tell Sehun what he had in his mind, how he wanted them to stop seeing each other and he pondered on whether he should tell Sehun about Chanyeol.

“No” Baekhyun told himself. “That might ruin their friendship. I can’t do that”

Sehun was still inside the changing room and Baekhyun could hear giggles of the toddler coming from inside. It made him smile again. It was surprising how he’d only known Hayan for less than 10 minutes and he was already infecting Baekhyun with this happiness.

The very next minute, Sehun walked out the door, back into the hallway and closed the door behind him. He had a smile on his face that Baekhyun had become accustomed to. But right now, it made Baekhyun wonder what was up.

“Is Hayan still inside?” Baekhyun asked when he saw Sehun standing there on his own.

In response, Sehun cleared his throat and in the very next moment, Baekhyun saw a tiny head emerge from behind Sehun’s knees.

Hayan was hiding behind his dad, with just his head hanging out in a tilt. He then grabbed both of Sehun’s legs in a hug and casually hung on them.

“Come out and say hello” Sehun said, his voice very mellow and full of love.

Baekhyun’s eyes were fixed on the 5 year old who only shook his head, refusing to do as his dad said. In that very moment, all of Baekhyun’s apprehensions and decision went poof, vanishing into the air. Looking at Hayan made him so happy that he did not even realize that he had already bent down on his knees, to Hayan’s level to initiate a conversation first.

“Hello Hayan” Baekhyun said.

Hearing that, Hayan went back into hiding his head behind Sehun’s legs.

“Don’t mind him” Sehun responded. “He’s very shy”

“I don’t mind at all” Baekhyun replied.

“Come now Han, don’t be rude”

“Is Han is nickname?” Baekhyun asked, looking up at Sehun.

At this Sehun laughed. “When he had just started to talk, he couldn’t say Hayan yet. Instead, he used to call himself Han. So it kind of stuck. But he hates when someone else calls him that. Only I have the privilege apparently”

“That’s so sweet” Baekhyun said, adoring the relationship the two had.

In no time, Hayan finally let go of his dad’s legs and emerged out from behind him. He was still shy but now, he was looking straight at Baekhyun.

“Hi” Baekhyun said.

In response, Hayan waved his hand at him.

“I am Baekhyun”

Hearing this, Baekhyun saw Hayan give out the cutest little bow he had ever seen in his life.

In that very moment, Baekhyun would literally give Hayan everything he possessed as a gift but he knew a 5 year old wouldn’t care much for a well kept apartment and a handful of paintings. Instead, Baekhyun fished through the bag he was carrying, hoping he’d find something there.

To his luck, he found the box of chocolates He’d received from an ad partner. He had asked James to put it in his desk but the boy had apparently decided to keep it in Baekhyun’s bag. And bless him for that.

“Hayan” Baekhyun said. “Do you want some chocolates”

Just this word was enough to get Hayan sway from his dad and rush over to Baekhyun’s side.

“Baekhyun” Sehun sighed. “You shouldn’t have”

“Don’t worry” Baekhyun assured him. “I just happened to find it in my bag.”

Baekhyun saw the excitement in Hayan’s eyes as he took the box of chocolate out. When he took the cover off, Hayan began clapping in excitement.

“Which one do you want?” Baekhyun asked.

“This one” Hayan said, talking directly to Baekhyun for the first time. “And this one, and this one and this one and…”

“Stop it Han, you’re pointing to each one”

Hayan sulked a little, hearing his dad put a limit to his love for chocolates.

“Don’t worry” Baekhyun whispered softly, “You can have all”

“Really?” Hayan’s eyes were shot wide open, like this was the first time someone was defying his dad’s wishes.

“Of course” Baekhyun said. “And if you want more, just tell me instead of your dad”

This made the toddler very cheerful. He proceeded to take the box when Baekhyun pulled it away once.

“You promise to brush your teeth before you go to sleep, do you?”

Hayan did not say anything. It was apparent that he hated brushing his teeth. Which did never did?

“I can’t give you the box until you promise”

The situation was dire. Hayan hated brushing his teeth at night but he loved chocolates more than anything. Slowly, he gave in to temptations.

“I promise” he said and then, Baekhyun gladly gave him the box of chocolates.

“Han” Sehun interrupted. “What do we say when someone gives you something?”

“Thank you” Hayan immediately said with the same adorable bow that Baekhyun had fallen in love with.

Before anyone could say anything else, Hayan ran away from there.

“Where is he going?” Baekhyun asked.

“Probably to eat the chocolates with his friends”

Baekhyun stared at the hallway long after Hayan had disappeared around the corner.

“You’ve raised a wonderful boy Sehun.”

Sehun smiled. “Of all the things I’ve achieved, I think I am the proudest about Hayan”

“And you should” Baekhyun said, “He is a joyful thing to watch”

Sehun suddenly turned towards Baekhyun. With Hayan gone, the tension had began building in the air between the two. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Like a cold gush of air hitting Baekhyun’s face, he suddenly became aware of why he was here in the first place. Why he had decided to meet early and why he had insisted on meeting Sehun wherever he was.

“I.. umm” Baekhyun began, unable to start. “It’s just that… What I wanted to say was that…”

“Wait…” Sehun interrupted. “I haven’t dated a person in a long time but even then I know what a rejection sounds like”

Baekhyun stared at Sehun, blankness taking over. How did he know what Baekhyun wanted to say? Was he really this good at understanding Baekhyun? Even in the last date, Baekhyun felt more at ease with Sehun than he had with anyone else, probably in his entire life. Except one, but that was the past.

That’s right, Chanyeol was in the past.

Baekhyun wondered what he was doing, why he was standing there. Chanyeol was a part of a life Baekhyun had left behind. He had done enough damage to Baekhyun in the past few years. And now, he was somehow still sabotaging his life.

Baekhyun looked at Sehun again. The face that was glowing with happiness was suddenly sullen and dark. This was Baekhyun’s doing. And he had no right to take someone’s happiness.

“That’s why you’re here, right?” Sehun asked.

Baekhyun wanted to answer but he was not sure himself. He had decided to put an end to all this once he would meet Sehun but right now, standing in front of him, after meeting his son, Baekhyun felt like a fool. A fool who was ready to give up a chance on something good, something whole because of one person who wasn’t even aware if Baekhyun was dead or alive right now.

And as far as him being friends with Sehun was concerned, something told Baekhyun that he would understand once Baekhyun told him the truth. That he was not like other men Baekhyun had met before. That he would probably be the first one to actually listen to Baekhyun.

“Just tell me straight and get it over with” Sehun continued. “I don’t want Han to hear any of this. And I don’t want him to see me like this. So if you’re here to say that this is the last time we’ll see each other, then it’s better if you do it qui…”

The heaviness in the air suddenly dropped.

Sehun blinked, so did Baekhyun.

Neither had expected this to happen. But as Baekhyun pulled him by his collar and kissed Sehun full, on his lips, they could feel the tension releasing from within themselves and from the atmosphere around them slowly.

It was unexpected, but unexpectedly pleasant.

Slowly, Baekhyun pulled away. “I am so sorry” he said, looking around, hoping no one had seen them. “I am so sorry Sehun. I know this was too sud…”

And this time, Sehun didn’t let Baekhyun complete. Grabbing him by his arms, Sehun gently pulled Baekhyun near and placed his hand just above Baekhyun’s hips.

As Baekhyun’s lips melted into those of Sehun’s, all Baekhyun could think was that this date was far better than what either had planned otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any typos. I will probably edit once when I am done with the entire fic! Thanks for bearing with me.


	4. Part I- Chapter 4

The next day, Baekhyun got an early call.

“Hello” Baekhyun spoke into the phone, barely waking up from his sleep and eyes still shut.

“Good morning” a familiar voice reached Baekhyun and his eyes flung open. It was Sehun on the line. Only then did he realized that it was still dark outside.

“I think your eyes are broken” Baekhyun said. “How is it good morning when it’s still dark?”

He checked the watch on the side table and it read 4.30 am.

Through the call, in the background, Baekhyun could hear Hayan yelling in excitement for some reason.

Baekhyun smiled. More than Sehun, he wanted to meet Hayan again.

“Sorry to have called you so early” Sehun said. “But I needed to tell you personally”

Suddenly Baekhyun was completely awake. What did Sehun want to tell him so early in the morning?

“Is something wrong?” Baekhyun asked.

“Nothing’s wrong” Sehun began. “It’s just that I’m going to Africa on some work and I won’t be back until Christmas”

Baekhyun’s heart sank. They had planned to meet again on Saturday when Baekhyun had his day off. And now he wouldn’t be back before Christmas which was almost a month away.

“You called me so early to ruin my day, didn’t you?” Baekhyun spoke a little too bitter than he intended to.

“I called you because I have a flight at 9 and I really…” Sehun spoke, his words almost reduced to a whisper, “… really, really want to see you before I go”

Baekhyun already knew where Sehun lived. He leapt from the bed. “I’ll be at your place in half an hour”

Seoul at 5 am during winter was beautiful. First, because there was next to none traffic and second, because the skyline was dazed with multitude of colors.

Because of the empty road and Baekhyun’s mad driving skills, he was already pulled up outside of Sehun’s house in less than 20 minutes.

When Baekhyun arrived at the door, Sehun almost immediately opened it for him.

For a few seconds, they stood there, staring at each other.

Baekhyun noticed that Sehun was still in his pajamas, like he had been lazying around the house with his disheveled hair and his mischievous grin.

Sehun didn’t take his eyes of Baekhyun either. Even just out of sleep, he looked breathtaking. The silver of his hair falling lightly on his temple and the nervous biting of his lips, were all intoxicating to Sehun.

They stood there, looking at each other, and the only thing that each could think about, was the other one.

And in that very moment, Baekhyun rushed towards Sehun almost as soon as Sehun reached out for Baekhyun.

As their lips locked, releasing steam into the cold air, Baekhyun held on to Sehun’s waist, for warmth, for support while Sehun grazed his hand against the nape of Baekhyun’s neck, holding him firmly, but delicately.

“Hi” Sehun said, breaking away from the kiss.

“Hi” Baekhyun whispered against the make of Sehun’s lips.

Sehun pulled Baekhyun in and wrapped his hands around him as Baekhyun tiptoed to hug him back.

Baekhyun breathed all of Sehun.

“Sehun” Baekhyun whispered into Sehun’s ears, which earned him a very hazed hum from the latter. “Do you plan on inviting me in anytime soon?” Baekhyun asked, “Because I am freezing out here”

Sehun was in the kitchen while Baekhyun made himself comfortable in the living room, not too far.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun called out.

“Breakfast” Sehun replied back.

“So early in the morning?”

“I have to leave in 2 hours, and I don’t want Hayan to eat airport food”

Baekhyun’s eyes turned to Hayan who was sprawled on the rug, playing with legos beside him.

“Do you want some help?” Baekhyun called out again, as it seemed Hayan was busy and Baekhyun had nothing to do, so he might as well help Sehun in the kitchen.

He got up and walked across the room to go to the kitchen.

“Smells so good” Baekhyun said, “What are you making?”

Sehun smiled. “French toast” he said. “Do you want some coffee?”

Before Baekhyun could answer, he heard a loud yell. “Dadda, I want coffee” Hayan’s voice demanded from the living room and he saw the toddler immediately get up and run towards them.

Sehun turned to look at his son and he knew he’d soon latch on to Sehun’s legs and ask for coffee. But to his surprise, Hayan ran towards Baekhyun and grabbed his legs.

“Can I have coffee please?” he said, looking at Baekhyun with beady eyes. Baekhyun couldn’t help but adore at how cute Hayan was when asking for things that were forbidden for him.

He picked Hayan up and held him in his arms.

For a second, Sehun couldn’t believe what had just happened. Hayan had never opened up to anyone so quickly.

“Coffee, dadda” Hayan said looking at Sehun while still in Baekhyun’s arms.

“No coffee. Only milk” Sehun replied.

Hayan quickly turned towards Baekhyun. “I want coffee” he said and then quickly added a please after it.

And Baekhyun understood what had happened. Hayan probably thought Baekhyun was the only one who could get him things his dad didn’t give him. Like the chocolates from the previous day.

“Does Hayan want to become as tall as dadda?” Baekhyun asked.

Hayan nodded.

“Does he want to be as strong as dadda?”

Hayan nodded again.

“Then Hayan needs to drink milk to grow up faster so he can have coffee as dadda, okay?”

At this, Hayan shook his head and Baekhyun laughed.

Baekhyun then turned towards Sehun. “I think Hayan is smarter than the two of us put together”

Sehun looked at the two of them and how Hayan was so comfortable being held by Baekhyun. “I think he likes you, a lot”

“I think his dadda likes me more” Baekhyun said before he could realize that he was speaking his mind.

“Is it that obvious?” Sehun asked, a little red in the face.

Baekhyun quickly placed a hand on Hayan’s ears and cradled him towards himself, preventing him from hearing. “My swollen lips are proof” he said with a light laugh.

Sehun did not know how to react to that, he looked at Hayan and then at Baekhyun and quickly got to making the French Toast, his ears warm and scarlet.

Being with Sehun was strange, in a good way. Baekhyun spoke his mind without fear. He was opening up quicker than he had ever done before and the more he stayed with Sehun, the more fearless he felt.

It was obvious that he had embarrassed Sehun enough so he let Hayan down and the little one immediately rushed back to his toys in the living room.

Once Hayan was gone, Baekhyun sneaked in behind Sehun and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his head against Sehun’s back.

The sudden movement made Sehun absolutely still as the beating of his heart halted for a second, before pacing up uncontrollably.

“I think I like Hayan’s dadda too” Baekhyun said softly, so only Sehun could hear.

The moment the words escaped Baekhyun’s lips, Sehun turned around and leaned down, taking Baekhyun’s lips into his own.

This time, the kisses weren’t hurried. They were soft and velvety. Sehun kissed with a passion Baekhyun had never felt before. He was gentle and warm, like the sunlight and his kissed were the airy breeze on an autumn evening, refreshing and full of life. And the more Baekhyun kissed him, the more he wanted to.

“I do not want to leave you here for an entire month” Sehun said, stacking his temple against Baekhyun’s and holding his face in his hands. “How will I survive?”

“You’ve survived for the past four years without dating, I am sure you’ll do fine” Baekhyun teased.

Sehun places another soft kiss on Baekhyun’s lips. “That was because I hadn’t met you yet. I am not so sure now”

Everything about Sehun was unreal. He made Baekhyun feel things he had never felt in his life. The words he spoke, were something Baekhyun had only dreamed of. And now that it was happening in real life, Baekhyun thought it was all too good to be true.

“Do you have to go?” Baekhyun asked, and to an extent, pleading him not to.

“I am afraid I do” Sehun said. “We’re setting up medical camps there to provide free aid to the people”

Baekhyun leaned in and hugged Sehun, placing his head on his chest. It was true that Baekhyun didn’t want Sehun to go but it was also true that he didn’t want to stop him from doing all the good that he was doing in the world.

“Okay” Baekhyun said, lifting his head up and smiling. “Let’s have breakfast first”

After Sehun and Hayan left, Baekhyun found himself getting more and more immersed at work. He had thought that he’d miss Sehun and Hayan but the truth was, he didn’t have time to even think about his own meals. The 7 hours of time difference wasn’t of much help either. By the time Sehun would be free in late evening, Baekhyun would already be asleep from being dead tired.

In a few days, all they were reduced to was ‘good morning’, ‘how was your day’ and ‘good night messages’.

3 nights before Christmas, when the final drafts of the magazine were due to be distributed for the next day, Baekhyun finally felt lighter. Even though it was a Sunday, everyone was working to make sure the year ends without any hitch.

“This was one heck of an issue” Junmyeon said once all the staff had gone home and it was only Baekhyun and him at the office.

The issues would be stocked all around the country in less than a few hours. Every bookshop, convenience store, newspaper stand, retail shop would be supplied piles and piles of the magazine in no time.

Baekhyun had to admit, he was nervous. Not only because Sehun was on the cover, but also because Christmas copies were the least sold issues in the entire year. Since Baekhyun had been working with Dernier Cri, he had never once, seen the Christmas publication yielding profits. People were in holiday mood, they wanted to spend time with friends and family. They already had a tight budget for Christmas and to but a luxury item such as a fashion magazine, was a little over the top.

“I just hope it sells” Baekhyun said.

He wondered how Sehun would feel if he found out the response of the people towards the magazine. Sitting in his cabin by Junmyeon by his side, all Baekhyun could do was curse himself for featuring Sehun for this issue rather than any other.

Suddenly, Baekhyun got up.

“Where are you going?” Junmyeon asked.

“I need scotch”

Baekhyun brought back with him the bottle Junmyeon kept in his office and two glasses. Pouring them drinks, Baekhyun sat back, thinking what Sehun would be up to right now.

A couple of rounds later, Sehun flopped on the couch like a mess while Baekhyun went back to thinking about the sales and Sehun.

Just then, his phone rang. It was 3 am now but both Baekhyun and Junmyeon were too riled up to go home.

The moment Baekhyun saw Sehun’s name on the screen, he wanted leave the cabin to talk but he knew they wouldn’t talk for more than a minute. Besides, Junmyeon was already asleep. So he picked up the call anyway.

“Hey” Baekhyun said, his voice suddenly calmer than before.

“Hi” Sehun let out. “I miss you”

Baekhyun smiled. “I miss you too”

“How’s Hayan?” Baekhyun asked.

“He’s as mischievous as ever. I think he misses you too”

“I can’t wait to meet the munchkin. When are you two coming back?”

Suddenly there was a silence.

“About that…” Sehun began, his voice was deep and sorrowful. “I am afraid I can’t come back just yet”

Baekhyun’s smile dropped. He had been looking forward to meeting Sehun on Christmas.

“Is something wrong?”

“No” Sehun said. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that we’re extending the stay for another month and I can’t just let others do everything on their own”

“Another month?”

“I am sorry Baekhyun”

Baekhyun sighed. “It’s okay” he said, although he was a little disappointed that he won’t meet Sehun for another 30 days. That he won’t be able to spend more time with Hayan until January now. Even though he didn’t quite admit it, Baekhyun was looking forward to spending Christmas and New Years with Sehun and Hayan, even though he hated both occasions. For the first time in 5 years, Baekhyun was excited about the holidays. But it all came crashing down.

“I am sure it’s important or you would have come back” Baekhyun said.

“I want to see you so bad” Sehun said, almost like a whisper. “I want to hold you and I want to kiss you and…” Sehun trailed off.

“And?” Baekhyun asked, curiously.

“And I am afraid if I continue this conversation, I might leave everything and come there right now”

Baekhyun did not understand the emotions he was feeling. Sehun’s words left him with both the fluttering and sinking of the heart and he didn’t know what to do.

“Is it too early to say that I hate you?” Baekhyun asked and Sehun laughed.

“It’s not too early for anything”

“Then I hate you. Even when I know that the work you’re doing is important and will probably save many lives. But I still hate you for being so far away and I hate you because I miss you so much”

Baekhyun hadn’t even realized what he had said. But that was what Sehun did to him. He always brought out his raw emotions out in the open and Baekhyun knew that with Sehun, his feeling and emotions were always in the right hand, even if they were raw and ugly.

“You’re making it harder for me to stay here”

“Then maybe you should come back” Baekhyun joked.

“Can you do me a favour?” Sehun suddenly asked, changing the topic.

“Sure”

“Can you go to my place and get something for me?”

Baekhyun thought about it for a while. Sehun probably had a staff full of people who could do him this favour. Why was he asking Baekhyun?”

“What do you want?”

“You’ll find a Santa stuffed toy in the living room. I need you to send that to me”

“You need me to ship soft toy to you in Africa?” Baekhyun asked.

“It’s Hayan’s favorite toy and when we left for Africa, he forgot it there. That’s the only thing he wants for Christmas so I can’t say no. We were supposed to come back by tomorrow but now that the trip had been extended, I have no other choice than to have it sent”

Baekhyun knew how much he loved Hayan and his heart swelled at how much Sehun cared for him but he still did not understand why he had to be the one to send it.

“Don’t you have staff who can send it to you?”

Sehun paused. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. It’s just that I don’t trust anyone when it comes to Hayan and his things so I thought I’d ask you. My friends are out of town or I’d have asked him to do it”

Baekhyun swallowed Sehun’s words. Did this mean that he trusted Baekhyun?

“No, no” Baekhyun said. “It’s fine. I’ll go.”

“Thanks” Sehun replied. “Also, can you go there now? The sooner you send it to me, the better it’ll be”

Baekhyun looked at the time again. It was a little after 3. Some international shipping agencies began operations at 5 in the morning. If Baekhyun were to get to Sehun’s house now, he could probably send the toy in the first cargo of the day.

“How do I get inside?”

“The pass code is 151127”

The pass code was awkwardly familiar to Baekhyun. It reminded him of memories he didn’t want to recall.

“Is this Hayan’s birth date?” Baekhyun asked, wondering why Sehun had Chanyeol’s date and month of birth as part of his code.

“No” Sehun replied. “It’s the day I found Hayan”

After that, Sehun hung up. Leaving Baekhyun to wonder how ironic it was that Sehun happened to find Hayan on the day Baekhyun’s ex husband celebrated his birthday.

“Who was that?” Junmyeon suddenly asked, waking up from his sleep.

“Hmm?” Baekhyun turned towards him. “Oh… no one”

“You’re dating someone, aren’t you?” A devilish smile played up on Junmyeon’s face.

“What?” Baekhyun scoffed. “I am not dating anyone”

Technically Baekhyun was right. It had been a month since he last saw Sehun and now he’ll have to wait another month. So in a way, he was still not dating.

“So you go about telling random people that you hate them because you miss them?”

“You heard that?” Baekhyun accused him. “I thought you were asleep”

“Well I was but I woke up when I heard you being all lovey-dovey on the call. So, who is it? And don’t you dare lie to me”

Baekhyun contemplated telling Junmyeon the truth. He was, after all, Baekhyun’s mentor and also a very good friend. But wasn’t it still too early to call this a relationship? And another month of distance was crucial because it could either make, or break the blocks they were building. Baekhyun didn’t want to jinx it just yet.

“It’s no one” he said, quickly getting up. “I’ve to leave now, it’s urgent so I guess you’ll oversee the delivery reports. Bye”

“Baekhyun wait...” Suho called after him but Baekhyun ran off.

Mildly drunk, Baekhyun did not want to take a risk driving so he called for a cab.

Half an hour later, he was outside Sehun’s house.

Punching in the code, Baekhyun carefully stepped inside the large mansion. It was all dark inside and Baekhyun didn’t quite know his way through yet. Neither did Baekhyun know how to turn the lights off. He pulled his phone out and turned the flashlight on.

Carefully navigating his way through, he reached the living room where he had last seen Hayan playing with his toys.

Baekhyun looked around the place and even though no one had lived here in a month, the house was still as spotless as ever.

Walking over to the couch, Baekhyun began his quest for the Santa toy.

Nothing there. He looked through the living room but still couldn’t find it.

He was about to move to the kitchen to look for the toy when he suddenly heard a strange noise.

It seemed like it was coming from the kitchen.

Was the housekeeper still here?

“Hello” Baekhyun called out. “Is anyone there?”

He got no response.

Slowly, but carefully, he started walking towards the kitchen.

This was a very big house with items that were far valuable than Baekhyun could even imagine. He was sure the housekeeper would have responded if they’d been here. So the only other explanation was that it was either an animal, or an intruder.

“If you’re here to steal something” Baekhyun said, gathering up some courage, “Then I am afraid you will have to go through me first”

Just then, he heard the noise of something metal being kept against the surface of the marble counter in the kitchen. It was not an animal. Baekhyun looked around for him to use something to attack, if in case it was an intruder.

Luckily, he found a golf organizer near the window. Picking up sturdiest looking club, Baekhyun began walking towards the kitchen.

The flash from the phone would only make it for the intruder to easily make out where Baekhyun was so he turned it off.

“Come out now and I’ll let you leave without pressing charges” Baekhyun announced as he stepped into the large room where he had heard the noise coming from.

There was a movement. Baekhyun sensed it. Even in the darkness, he could make out the shapes of various things. The rest, he could recall from memory.

Just by the look of it, Baekhyun could clearly see that there was a human like figure standing in the corner of the kitchen.

“Leave right now or I am calling the cops” Baekhyun threatened.

But instead of leaving, Baekhyun could faintly see that the black mass had begun walking towards him. Baekhyun desperately searched for the switch board. Hoping to scare the intruder off if he could see his face. As his hands found the switch board, he also saw the man rush towards him in a hurry.

Baekhyun quickly turned the lights on and was about to swing the club at the man when he stopped dead in the tracks.

His heart stopped.

“Surprise” a very happy voice yelled.

Sehun stood before Baekhyun, a smile on his face and his arms open.

Baekhyun stared at the make of the tall man in front of him. He didn’t know what to do. Whether to be mad that he had tried to scare the shit out of Baekhyun or that to be happy that it was Sehun standing in front of him. He was here, not in Africa.

Baekhyun decided to follow his heart. He rushed towards Sehun and snaked his arms around him as the taller wrapped Baekhyun in a warm embrace.

“I would have killed you, you know?” Baekhyun muttered against the chest he had buried his face in. “Why didn’t you tell me you were here?”

“I wanted to surprise you but you arrived sooner than I had planned” Sehun said, letting go and clearing the view for Baekhyun to look past him.

Baekhyun saw that the kitchen had been mildly decorated with balloons and a banner with the words ‘Home Sweet Home’ laid half hung.

“Where is Hayan?” Baekhyun asked when he saw the banner.

“He’s asleep” Sehun said, pulling Baekhyun close towards him again. “Jet lagged”

“And you?” Baekhyun asked, “You must be tired too”

“Not in the least. I wanted to see you first.”

With that, Sehun claimed Baekhyun’s lips in his own and showered him with hurried kisses and a taste he’d been deprived of for a month.

Between the steamy kisses both were indulged in, Sehun spoke. “Do you want to go upstairs?”

Baekhyun did not even think twice. He quickly nodded, letting his heart make the decisions for him.

The next morning when Baekhyun woke up, he found himself snuggling to Sehun. He slept like a log and Baekhyun smiled remembering how they were high on a lot of things last night. After the sloppy kissing and the shedding of clothes, Sehun had fallen into deep sleep before they could move to the final round.

They had spent the night actually sleeping.

Baekhyun quickly checked his watch. It was 8 am. He’d have to be at work by 10 and review the early sales report.

He quickly wished for the numbers to be not as bad a last year.

Getting up from the bed, Baekhyun walked out of the room and down the stairs to fix himself a glass of water. Sehun was tired and he did not want to disturb his sleep, so Baekhyun decided to let him sleep in.

When Baekhyun reached the living room, to his surprise, Hayan was already up and playing with a toy truck.

“Good morning Hayan” Baekhyun said with a smile.

Hayan turned towards him, but did not say anything. It was obvious that the kid didn’t remember Baekhyun too well after the month long separation.

Baekhyun had to admit, it stung him a little because he wanted to see Hayan’s bright smile greeting him.

“Are you hungry?” Baekhyun asked, walking over to Hayan and sitting beside him.

Hayan didn’t say anything and quickly went back to playing with his truck.

“What do you want to eat?”

Again, there was no reply.

So Baekhyun got up, thinking it was best to not disturb the 5 year old kid when he didn’t even remember Baekhyun well.

He walked over to the kitchen and was about to pour himself a glass of water when he felt something grab him by his legs.

Baekhyun looked down and found hugging him tightly.

“Hello munchkin” Baekhyun said, smiling and lifting the boy up to make him sit on the table top. “Do you need something?”

“Dadda” Hayan sweetly replied.

“I am afraid dadda’s still asleep”

Hearing this, Hayan went back to playing with this truck.

But Baekhyun wasn’t the one to give up.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Baekhyun asked for the second time and Hayan crashed the truck on the table and made fake crashing noises. His tiny feet dangled from the table top and Baekhyun noticed that he was missing one sock.

Baekhyun’s mind became as mischievous as the toddler at that moment. He slowly reached out and brushed his fingers on the sole of Hayan’s foot that had a sock missing.

Hayan giggled immediately, wiggling his toes.

Baekhyun set Hayan back on the floor and drew his hand out, in a claw shape.

“Tell me what you want to eat or the tickle monster will attack again”

Hearing this, Hayan turned towards the other side and began running towards the hall, laughing and yelling like there was a real monster on loose.

Baekhyun ran after him, making mild monster noises. Finally in the living room, Baekhyun caught up to Hayan and picked him up softly before making him land on the couch.

He then began tickling Hayan all over as the tiny thing laughed and screamed in joy.

“To stop the tickle monster” Baekhyun said, amidst the tickles, “Hayan has to immediately tell me what he wants for breakfast”

“Pancakes” Hayan finally said when the torture was too much for him to bear.

Baekhyun took his hands off and picked Hayan again to take him to the kitchen with him.

“What kind of pancakes?”

“Chocolate chip”

While Hayan sitting on the counter, at a safe distance from anything harmful, Baekhyun began making the batter for chocolate chip pancakes.

“Does your dadda like pancakes too?” Baekhyun asked and Hayan immediately nodded.

“He likes pancakes and waffles and fruit loops and burgers and pizzas and chicken nuggets…”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at Hayan suspiciously. “Is this dadda’s list or Hayan’s?”

“Dadda likes what I like” he said so innocently that Baekhyun had no choice but to believe him.

Once Baekhyun was done with the batter, he took it over to Hayan.

“Do you want to taste it?”

Hayan nodded enthusiastically. Baekhyun let him dip his finger in the batter and taste it.

“How is it?”

“Not like pancakes” Hayan said which made Baekhyun laugh.

He ruffled the toddler’s hair. “That’s because it’s not cooked yet”

With Hayan watching everything he was doing, Baekhyun quickly cooked the pancakes as he had been requested.

Hayan pointed to the shelf near the fridge. “Chocolate syrup”

Baekhyun shook his head at the love Hayan had for chocolate.

He took the bottle out and poured a good amount of the pancakes.

“More” Hayan said.

Baekhyun added just a little more just to appease Hayan as the latter clapped his hands in joy.

He then made Hayan sit on the chair on the opposite side of the table top and took the chair next to him.

Cutting the pancakes into tiny bits, Baekhyun began feeding them to Hayan.

“More chocolate” Hayan said and Baekhyun had to dip the tiny pieces into the overflowing chocolate sauce before feeding them to Hayan.

As the toddler happily munched to his favorite breakfast, Baekhyun couldn’t take his eyes off Hayan. In just 3 meetings, Baekhyun had already started thinking of the kid as his own.

“What do we have here?” Sehun suddenly emerged from behind them.

“Pancakes” Hayan yelled in excitement, jumping on the chair.

Sehun bent and placed a soft kiss on top of Hayan’s head and then looked at Baekhyun. “You made these?”

“I did” Baekhyun said, giving Hayan the fork that already had a piece stuck in it for him to eat. Baekhyun quickly dismounted the chair. “I am sorry, I shouldn’t have”

Sehun didn’t say anything. Instead he pulled Baekhyun closer and planted a soft kiss on his lips. “Thank you”

Baekhyun blinked. “What for?”

“For feeding Hayan” Sehun took the chair on the other side of Hayan. “I had forgotten that the cook was on leave and if you hadn’t been here, I have no idea when I’d have woken up or how long Hayan would have to go hungry”

It wasn’t that big a deal as Sehun was making it out to be but Baekhyun could help but feel content that Sehun appreciated the little things in life more than the big ones. It made Baekhyun very happy. Outside of his work and family, no one had every appreciated Baekhyun for the tiny, insignificant things he did.

“Do you like them?” Sehun asked Hayan and the toddler nodded happily while trying to feed himself the breakfast. In less than a minute of Baekhyun leaving him on his own, Hayan already had chocolate sauce all over his face and clothes.

“You’re a messy eater, aren’t you?” Baekhyun teased him but all Hayan did was smile at him before getting back to his treasured breakfast.

Baekhyun then turned to Sehun. “There’s more for you” he said, pointing towards the kitchen counter and getting up. “And I have to leave or I’ll be late for work”

“Did you bring your car?”

Baekhyun shook his head. “I’ll just call for a cab. You two should rest”

“Nonsense” Sehun said, leaping up from the chair and grabbing Baekhyun’s hand. “First we have breakfast and then I will drop you off”

Had it been anyone else, Baekhyun would have immediately refused the offer. But he did not want to let go of Sehun just yet.

“You can just drop me off here”

Baekhyun was inside Sehun’s car, in the passenger’s seat as they were about to reach the main door of the building that sheltered Baekhyun’s office.

“Why?” Sehun asked.

Baekhyun did not have a proper answer. He didn’t want to offend Sehun nor could he tell others openly that they were dating. But before Baekhyun could find an answer, Sehun had already parked in front of the main entrance.

“Do you want me to pick you up too?”

Baekhyun shook his head, still on the lookout for familiar faces. “I will have to work late today and tomorrow”

“So we’re not meeting until Christmas?” Sehun asked.

Baekhyun scrunched his eyebrows. “We’re meeting on Christmas?”

Sehun laughed. “I am hosting the annual charity party”

Baekhyun had completely forgotten about the party Sehun threw every Christmas. “Am I invited?”

“Why would I invite you when I am taking you as my date?”

Suddenly the air between them became too dense and too warm. Baekhyun’s cheeks turned red from the sudden embarrassment. “You need to stop being so blatant” Baekhyun complained.

Sehun rushed in and placed a soft kiss on Baekhyun’s lips, earning a very scandalous look.

“I don’t and I won’t” Sehun said, and turned his head back. “Right Hayan?”

Hayan nodded, even though he didn’t know what he had been asked. He always nodded when his dad asked him a question.

Baekhyun let out a soft laugh. “Hayan you need to start taking sides of the person who makes you pancakes, okay?”

Hayan nodded again and both Sehun and Baekhyun broke out into a grin. Hayan was really the cutest think both had ever seen.

Baekhyun looked at the time and realized that he was already late. “I better get going” he announced. He was about to step out when Sehun grabbed his wrist and pulled him back in.

Like it had become a habit, Sehun crashed both their lips together, as if leaving a reminder with Baekhyun to think about him the whole day. He then leaned closer till he reached Baekhyun’s ears.

“I am sorry about last night. I will make up for it next time, I promise”

As Baekhyun walked inside the office building, his knees were still weak and his heart was still thumping at the whispering words Sehun had left in his ears.

He couldn’t wait for Christmas to arrive.

On Christmas Eve, Junmyeon gathered the entire staff together in the meeting room.

Once everyone was seated, Junmyeon began.

“For the past 10 years, there has been a curse on this office”

Everyone looked at each other, confused. Even Baekhyun wasn’t sure what was up.

“Every Christmas edition, in the last 15 years, has consistently had the worst performance when it came to sales. No matter what strategies we adopted, out Christmas edition kept having the worst year round sales.”

Baekhyun was aware of the past 5 years of performance but he had no idea this had been happening for the past 15 years.

“For the first time in 15 years, and that too in just 2 days, we have outsold every Christmas copy to hit the shelf.”

A loud cheer ran down everyone sitting there. Baekhyun smiled at how happy everyone looked.

“We finally broke the 15 years old curse” Junmyeon screamed with the crowd, raising more cheers from them.

Baekhyun had read the reports. The Christmas edition sales of the magazine skyrocketed. This issue’s sales were better than anything Baekhyun had seen in 5 years. And it had been just 2 days since the magazine hit shelves.

The edition had sold out like hot cakes and Baekhyun’s company was already getting orders for restocks.

When the noise died down, Junmyeon looked around the room.

“I would like to thank each and every one of you” he smiled, “for your hard work and dedication. But, the reason we were able to achieve this, was because of two people”

Junmyeon pointed both his hands towards the crowd, two people in specific. “James and Baekhyun”

Neither of the two was expecting their names to be called out so it was a pleasant surprise. Another round applause roared through the room.

“It was James’s brain child and Baekhyun’s suggestion of the celebrity that made this possible”

Now Baekhyun was seriously confused. It probably was apparent because Junmyeon continued.

“From the feedback I have gathered, the face on the cover had been the biggest reason our sales were this high”

Baekhyun couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was because of Sehun?

“And it happened only because Baekhyun suggested we have him featured”

In the very next moment, Junmyeon snapped his fingers and the door to the meeting room flung open. Baekhyun stared at the people who carried glasses and bottles of champagne with them inside.

Baekhyun immediately got up and walked over to where Junmyeon was. “What is all this?” he asked. Having worked at the company for 5 years, Baekhyun knew that Junmyeon was generous. But he was not this generous.

“Are you already spending all your profits on champagne?”

Junmyeon looked at Baekhyun like the question he had asked was utterly preposterous. “Of course not. I called Mr. Oh Sehun to thank him earlier today and he sent over the champagne to celebrate”

Baekhyun stared at the room that was coming alive with merriment. Sehun really knew how to go overboard.

But is also made Baekhyun kind of sad because he wanted to tell Sehun about the sales personally when they met at the Christmas party. Knowing that Junmyeon had already done that, made Baekhyun’s heart sink a little. Even then, he knew it was not Junmyeon’s fault. Had he known what was going on between Sehun and Baekhyun, he’d have never done it.

Baekhyun decided to let it go. It was time to celebrate.

He was meeting Sehun the next day anyway. And he had to admit, this was the most excited he’d been about Christmas in forever.

It was finally Christmas. Baekhyun had the day off and Sehun had said that he’d come and pick Baekhyun up, despite the latter’s disagreement.

Most of the day had been spent on finalizing what to wear. As the editor of a fashion magazine, Baekhyun was expected to attend many parties and events, themed or casual and thus, he had a cupboard full of clothes that his company had tailor-made for him.

When Baekhyun had asked Sehun what kind of party it was and what he should wear, Sehun said that Baekhyun could simply show up in his night dress and Sehun wouldn’t mind. And Baekhyun did not doubt it. He knew for a fact that Sehun never cared about such things. But Baekhyun did.

For the event he chose a clean cut ash grey tuxedo that he had worn just once before.

By the time Baekhyun had showered and was ready for the party, it was already 6.30. He actually had no sense of time but he presumed when he saw Sehun’s number flashing on his phone screen.

Baekhyun quickly picked up the call and told Sehun that he’d be down in a minute.

Looking at himself one final time, Baekhyun went downstairs.

When Baekhyun reached, he didn’t find Sehun’s care there.

Instead, to his surprise, there was a limo parked out front.

The moment Baekhyun stepped onto the pavement, the driver hurried towards the door and opened it for him.

As the door swung open, he saw Sehun already waiting for him inside.

“Hello gorgeous” Sehun smiled and Baekhyun couldn’t help but smiled back. Sehun would probably call him gorgeous even if he were to actually arrive in his pajamas.

“Hey” Baekhyun said, almost like a whisper and quickly stepped inside before the door was shut behind him.

“To the house” Sehun announced to the driver and the car took off. Baekhyun looked around. The glass partition between the driver and them had been pulled up. They were now in complete privacy.

Baekhyun turned towards Sehun. Even in the dim lights inside of the limo, Baekhyun could see Sehun’s striking features, the make of his fitting shirt and the crease on his trousers.

“You look…” Baekhyun began but before he could finish, Sehun had already claimed his words inside of him. Baekhyun parted his lips the moment Sehun has reached for them and he let the taller explore the insides of his mouth to his satisfaction.

Sehun was slow, and soft and for some reason, Baekhyun wanted him to be a little wilder. Taking charge, Baekhyun began pushing Sehun until his back hit the seat and he was comfortably seated. Their lips were still attached and Baekhyun could feel the smile that had played out on Sehun’s face.

Baekhyun quickly unbuttoned the blazer of his tuxedo and mounted Sehun until his pelvis was grinding against Sehun’s.

“Baekhyun” Sehun let out. He was about to say something else but Baekhyun stopped him by claiming his lips in his own. The more he kissed Sehun, the more he felt the heat running south. And he guessed he wasn’t the only one because under him, Sehun was hard too.

“I can’t wait for the party to end” Baekhyun whispered against Sehun’s ears.

Sehun pulled him closer and bit into his lips lightly. “We can’t do it here” he said, in a low voice. “We’ll be at the party in 10 minutes”

This was disappointing. But if 10 minutes was only what they had, Baekhyun did not want to rush into things too much. Especially not when it would be their first time together.

Sighing, Baekhyun mounted off Sehun before he sloppily fell on the seat beside him.

Sehun took Baekhyun’s hand in his and placed a soft kiss before Baekhyun rested his head on Sehun’s shoulder. “Have I told you that I hate you?” Baekhyun asked.

“Once or twice” Sehun said with a grin.

They fell into silence and Baekhyun closed his eyes. Leaning against Sehun was a very comfortable feeling. Like he finally found someone he could lean on. Sehun raised his arm and wrapped it around Baekhyun, holding him in close embrace before planting another kiss on the top of Baekhyun’s head.

The latter had no idea why but he had fallen in love with the way Sehun expressed his feelings. It was always out in the open. His soft kisses always told Baekhyun that he was adored by him and Baekhyun loved every minute of it. He loved how Sehun never held back when it came to expressing his feelings.

This was something he had never felt before. All his life, Baekhyun had been the one giving. He had never even thought that receiving some of that love was so addictive.

There were only two good things about the party. First, that it was Sehun’s and second, that Baekhyun either knew or had worked with most celebrities that had attended. And he was glad because this very thing saved him from being bored while Sehun socialized with other guests. After about an hour or two of being there, while Baekhyun had gone to the bar for a refill on his wine, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder.

“Back already?” he asked before turning around only to find his boss standing there.

“Huh?” Junmyeon asked a little confused. “Back from where?”

“No… nothing” Baekhyun mumbled. “I thought you’re someone else”

A sinister smile erupted on Junmyeon’s face as he looked around. “You’re here with your date, aren’t you?”

The sudden question made Baekhyun flustered. “No I’m not” he lied. “I came here alone. Wh… what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? The three of us were invited”

Baekhyun was a little confused now. “Three?”

Just then, he heard another familiar voice approaching him, “Hey Baekhyun” James said, munching on something.

Great. Why hadn’t Sehun invited the entire office staff along with Baekhyun’s friends and family to this too?

“Hey James”

“Rad party” James let out and before either could say anything else, he rushed off to grab some more hors d’ouerves.

Junmyeon turned towards Baekhyun, awestruck. “Never did I think I’d be invited to Sehun’s Christmas Party”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at him. “So you’re on first name basis with him now?”

“Oh we’re as good as pals now” he said and Baekhyun found it a little hard to digest. “Tell you what…” Junmyeon continued. “You ever need anything from Sehun, any help, just let me know. I will talk to him on your behalf”

Baekhyun had no idea if Junmyeon was serious or kidding but by the sound of it, he really did believe in what he had just said. And he had no idea what Sehun had done to make Junmyeon feel this way.

“Sure” Baekhyun replied, lips drawn to a thin, angry line. “I will let you know”

Looking around, Baekhyun found Sehun at the far end of the hall, talking to people Baekhyun barely recognized. He wondered how long he’d stay occupied like that. And he also wondered if and when he’d be able to talk to him alone. Especially about this curious case of Kim Junmyeon.

After a few minutes, Junmyeon found some recognizable faces and went on to talk to them, leaving Baekhyun alone to have his drink in peace.

But peace was not something Baekhyun would achieve that night.

A few minutes later, Baekhyun heard the clinking of glasses and everyone turned their attention towards the center of the room.

Sehun stood there, claiming everyone else’s attentions.

“Ladies and gentlemen…” he began. “It is with deep please and utmost honor that I welcome you to my home on this very special day. As you all know, this year has been very special to me. We were able to push forward the plans for nationwide development of no-cost cancer hospitals for children, our ‘Plant-a-tree-save-a-live’ initiative hit 5 million trees planted and our month long project in Africa was a massive hit and we’ll soon be able to build fully functional medical facilities there by the end of next quarter”

This party was different. Unlike the celebrations Baekhyun had been a part of previously, there were no thunderous claps and roars from the crowd. Instead, all they did was clink their glasses with tiny spoons, which made Baekhyun think where had all the spoons come from.

Sehun continued. “Not only that, but as you all may know, my son, Hayan, turned 5 and as much as I love him, 5 year olds can really be a handful”

Baekhyun laughed, and so did the rest of the people in the room. Sehun had told him earlier that Hayan did not like meeting strangers in large crowd so he was in his room with the nanny. Baekhyun even noticed how Sehun went to check on him every few minutes.

“But what made the year very special to me was something else” he said and then took a pause.

From where Baekhyun stood, he could see Sehun very clearly. Even if there were a lot of people present there, half of which Baekhyun hadn’t even met yet, he could still very well make Sehun out from the rest of the crowd. The way Sehun carried himself, the energy and exuberance he emitted, the confidence he always carried and the charm he always had up his sleeves really made him stand out from the crowd.

“What made this year particularly special to me, was someone else” Sehun said and suddenly, the entire room burst into murmurs.

Baekhyun only realized what Sehun had said when he slowly turned his eyes towards him and extended his hand out.

For a second, Baekhyun stood there, frozen. What was Sehun doing? Confused and out of his mind, Baekhyun quickly looked behind himself to see if Sehun was pointing to someone else. But he found no one there.

All eyes turned towards Baekhyun and he knew he was supposed to walk towards Sehun. But he couldn’t no matter how hard he tried. It was like his feet had become numb, like they wouldn’t comply and move. All attention was diverted towards him and suddenly, he felt drained of every ounce of confidence he had in him.

Unable to think and find a way out, Baekhyun looked at Sehun, pleadingly, to come and help him. The moment their eyes met, he saw Sehun give him a short nod and a smile. And suddenly, all the other eyes from the room disappeared. All he saw was Sehun and his extended hand, waiting for Baekhyun to take.

Surprisingly, Baekhyun found the strength to move his feet. He found the courage he needed to not care about the rest of the world. Sehun had openly accepted Baekhyun. It was time Baekhyun returned the feeling.

Slowly, Baekhyun walked towards the center of the room, drawing his confidence from Sehun, eyes still fixed on each other. The moment he took Sehun’s hand, Baekhyun felt a surge of happiness he’d never felt before.

Baekhyun saw Sehun’s electric smile and it made him smile too. Sehun was grinning like an idiot. Like a teenager who had been acknowledged by his crush and Baekhyun couldn’t help but fall in love with every part of him.

Sehun then turned towards the rest of the people. “Meet Byun Baekhyun” he said. “The man I’m dating”

As Baekhyun smiled and shook his head, with an unexplainable feeling of belonging rising in his heart, he saw Junmyeon and James looking at him with gaped mouths. He saw some strangers staring at them, he saw some familiar faces smiling at them and then he saw the face he’d completely forgotten about.

Standing among the crowd, with a face as blank as a slate, was Chanyeol, looking at no one but Baekhyun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to follow me on Twitter, click here [@Yeolallineed_](https://www.twitter.com/yeolallineed_)


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